Entertainment :: Music
Ms. Kelly Rowland Goes Solo by Clay Cane
EDGE ContributorTuesday Jun 19, 2007 On July 3rd Kelly Rowland returns to music with her eagerly awaited second solo album, Ms. Kelly. The new album is three years in the making and has gone through many reinventions. Originally, the album was titled My Story and had a release date of June 2006. Much to the dismay of many of her fans, the album was suddenly shelved with no word on a future release date. The wait is over! Kelly has prepared a polished R&B/pop album that she feels wholly represents the woman she is today.
If you haven’t noticed Ms. Kelly has been working the gay clubs from Club Splash in New York City to club G-A-Y in London. Always a big supporter of the gay community, Kelly had a one on one with EDGE contributor, Clay Cane, to discuss the new album, her gay fan base and much more.
EDGE: I love the name Ms. Kelly - I know some drag queens that go by that name! So, how did that album title come about?
Kelly Rowland: I listened to the record after it was done and I just heard a lot of sass, a lot of growth, a lot of confidence. Of course the title with my name in there makes it personal so that’s where it came from. So, I decided to call it Ms. Kelly.
EDGE: Your first album was more R&B/alternative rock and in Destiny’s Child you had the whole girl group vibe. What were your influences for this album?
Kelly Rowland: I was listening to a lot of R&B. I remember around the time I was listening to Justin Timberlake’s album, Brandy’s old record, Whitney Houston’s very first album and Sade. I love those albums because they felt good. I wanted an album where every song on the album feels good. Where you can groove with it, it can make you party, it can make you cry, or it can make you just chill -- whatever it is, it has to feel good to your soul.
EDGE: In an interview years ago you said every time you finish a song you always let Beyonce listen to it to get her opinion and stamp on it. Do you still do that today?
Kelly Rowland: When she was in town I would do that because I recorded the album in LA. After the record was done I was really going off of how I felt because that was always her main answer. She’d tell me what she thought then she’d say, "Well, what do you think?" I had to be happy in the end. I listened to it all myself and I did what I wanted to do.
EDGE: Rumor has it there will be a duet with Beyonce on the album or on a possible re-release -- any truth to that?
Kelly Rowland: Anything can happen but not that I know of! [Laughs]
EDGE: Do you have many gay friends in your circle?
Kelly Rowland: Yes, I do.
EDGE: Hip-hop and R&B gets tons of the support from the gay community, but it seems like hip-hop doesn’t want the support from the gay community. What’s your take on that?
Kelly Rowland: It’s become so political. That’s a really good question...when I think about the question you asked me all I can think about are people like Kanye who made the comment about the gay community supporting him and not thinking anything of it because people are people, like I say. It doesn’t matter if you are gay, straight, or whatever -- music is music. I think that it’s important to not categorize people because music is music. I don’t get why it has to be separated, or why people have to be separated.
EDGE: There are so many gay icons out there -- Madonna, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand, Patti LaBelle. Who is your favorite gay icon?
Kelly Rowland: I have to say Diana Ross.
EDGE: And why?
Kelly Rowland: Because she just went there when it came to glamour. I think that’s why, as my friend would say, "the kids", love her so much because she went there with glamour. She took risks, she had the big hair; amazing, crazy make-up and it was beautiful. She did it up every time! She just showed us what glamour is.
EDGE: Do you get hit on by a lot of females?
Kelly Rowland: Ummm...I probably did but I didn’t know! [Laughs] Not that I know of.
EDGE: An internet rumor is that you supposedly would never do a song with Jay-Z out of respect for Beyonce - is that true or were you misquoted?
Kelly Rowland: I would love to do a song with Jay, but it would feel weird to me to do a song with Jay just because...I don’t know! [Laughs] I guess if the opportunity presented itself then that would be awesome, but if I didn’t, I still love Jay. He’s like a big brother to me.
EDGE: So you’re not against doing a song with Jay because of the Beyonce connection?
Kelly Rowland: No, no...
EDGE: Many people in the general public think there are so many artists right now who just can’t sing, but they can dance or they’re pretty. What’s your reaction to that as an artist who doesn’t lip-synch, dances on stage and still sings?
Kelly Rowland: Ummm...I don’t really like to call anybody out, which I know you didn’t. Wow --that’s a great question. I feel like there is space and room for everybody, to be very honest with you. I think that everybody deserves an opportunity. But, I know I thank Destiny’s Child, I thank Matthew Knowles for teaching me to be an artist and taking time with me. I think that’s what separates the temporary -- I hope I’m saying this right-- from the longevity. I admire artists like the Gladys Knights, the Patti LaBelles; they are here because they have longevity. Raw talent is going to take them as far as they can go, which has been a long time.
EDGE: Considering the climate of hip-hop right now, after Don Imus and the special on Oprah are you concerned with the way hip-hop is being attacked and your album is more hip-hop than the last?
Kelly Rowland: Well, I don’t like to categorize music so I wouldn’t call my album a hip-hop album. I’d call it a pop/R&B album because I know Destiny’s Child crossed me over to a bigger crowd. But, I’m not happy with the way hip-hop is getting so much flack right now. I hope that everybody starts looking at other genres of music besides hip-hop and blaming it on so many different things that happen in our community.
EDGE: What else should we know about the album Ms. Kelly?
Kelly Rowland: I just think that this album gives people a closer and better look at me just as Kelly Rowland and not so much Kelly Rowland’s of Destiny’s Child. It’s a very personal record. So, I just want people to get to know me better and they’ll do that with Ms. Kelly.
Ms. Kelly is in stores July 3rd.
Clay Cane is a New York City-based writer and publishing his first novel Ball-Shaped World, a fictionalized account of the black/Latino ballroom subculture. Visit his pop culture/social commentary web site at http://www.claycane.net.
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