| Governor: The "Son Of Pain" Speaks Openly About T.I., R&B And His Mom's Suicide |
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| Written by Ifè Oshun | |
 Although he's one of the newest artists signed to T.I.'s Grand Hustle label, there's nothing new about R&B/soul prophet Governor or his spine-tingling vocals. After having endured the fires of family tragedy and numerous career set-backs, the self-proclaimed "country boy" emerges, undefeated and swaggering, wielding his mainstream debut Son Of Pain, an ecclesiastical opus evoking the soul legends of the past while embracing the streetwise grit of the now.
Aptly titled, the set's massively blues-drenched lead single "Blood, Sweat & Tears" speaks to indescribable despair and transcendent redemption. With the lyric "In '74 mama pulled the trigger," the songwriter paints a world of hurt referring to when his mother committed suicide while he was still a baby. He spoke candidly about how this heartrending experience shaped and inspired his life. After a couple failed attempts as part of the Jodeci-styled group Case Closed, the resilient son of a preacher finally landed a solo deal with indie label Warlock where he dropped his 2000 debut Another State of Mind. In 2002, a meeting with the Trackmasters led to the honing of his unique hip-hop/soul/blues style and the hit "My Life," featuring 50 Cent. The two artists then went on to record six more tracks which, unfortunately, never saw the light of day. Sticking to the game plan, Governor soon hooked up with Jacques Agnant whose cousin, Wyclef Jean, quickly featured the singer on the track "Since Supernatural" (from Santana's 2002 Shaman) and his Preacher's Son album (2003). This heat led to Governor getting a call from Dr. Dre to record six songs, which on the strength of good chemistry, morphed into an album's worth of material. Unfortunately, due to label politics between Atlantic and Dre's Aftermath, these joints were never released either. Always looking forward, Governor stayed focused and kept grinding until a mutual friend introduced him to T.I. "Before T.I., my project was at a standstill," he said. "It's refreshing to know that a guy that survives in the hip-hop world has some respect for R&B music. When I first met dude... he wasn't listening to hip-hop. He was listening to old school music. He had a whole CD full of nothing but throwback joints. I was like 'Wow man this dude really knows his music.'" The Virginia native, whose full name is Governor Washington Jr., was raised on the sounds of classic soul legends. "Mentors so to speak were those cats from the old school, that 70s era of music," he told us. "The Marvin Gayes, Donny Hathaways, the Aretha Franklins, those group of artists were the ones that got me on the page that I'm on right now as far as who and how I wanted my music to reach people." The outspoken Governor (hear his shoutout), recently sat down for a heart to heart where he touched on a broad spectrum of topics, including the 50 cent/Dr. Dre recordings, the shallowness rampant in today's R&B, working with T.I. and the challenges he continues to face despite the progress he's made.
AUDIO INTERVIEW (Quicktime) HiphopRnbSoul.com: How did your mother's passing shape you into the man and artist you are today?
Governor: "It instilled in me a desire to never quit." Listen
HRS: You play saxophone, trumpet and percussion. How did that come about? Listen HRS: Talk about you releationship with T.I.
G: He's my gatekeeper... He really understands the history of music." Listen HRS: Which Son Of Pain track stands out the most for you? G: "Blood, Sweat & Tears" was that breakaway song when I finally figured out what my style really was." Listen HRS: What do you feel you bring to the table... what makes you unique? G: "My respect for the history of our music and my respect for the culture of our music. Surely if a lot of artists respected the culture and the history of music they wouldn't say some of the things that they're saying." Listen HRS: How do you feel about the unreleased material you did with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent? G: "It hurts... It's such a shame to see how people can b so excited about something on second 29... the 30th second mark hits and everybody's intention is totally switched and changed because of money." Listen HRS: What current artist(s) do you admire? G: "Anthony Hamilton. I know that brother and I respect that man." Listen HRS: What keeps you in the game right now? G: "We need music like my music in the culture of our people... I can remember when I was younger... I listened to hip-hop but... there were a lot of people who put out quality R&B... A lot of times in today's music, it's heartless, it's just fricking heartless." Listen |
