Ray J was interviewed by Essence magazine, he was asked if he proposed to Whitney Houston but he went on and on about young men taking on the responsibility of marriage and blah blah blah……so basically he wouldn’t deny or confirm if the reports were true….here is a snippet of the interview for the rest click link.
Essence.com: Congrats on the success of your debut single "Sexy Can I", which I understand has already been certified platinum. That's major for your independent label Knock Out Entertainment. How has it affected your baller-status?
Ray J: Yes, it is, but we're very humble and grateful for Koch, which is the No. 1 indie label for the distribution partnership. We're going to keep doing what we do and our goal is to have 500,000 in sales.
Essence.com: It's great to see you hold your own because there was a time in the beginning of your music career that your album struggled and many believed that you'd always live in your sister Brandy's shadow. Was it ever difficult to receive such criticism?
R.J.: Yeah, I heard everything but I don't tune into it because words don't affect me. You always hear what everybody says but the media doesn't make me think twice about myself or my family. We stay true to ourselves and let the everyone else create their own stories. Honestly, it wasn't about struggling. When I was a teenager I didn't really care about music especially with my sister being so successful I was able to experience it through her so I didn't devote myself to my music. It wasn't like I was thrown into the music industry but I will admit that I didn't have the passion. At that age, I just wanted to have a lot of fun. My first goal was to take care of my family and the second was to have fun. It wasn't fun because it felt like work.
Essence.com: As most teenagers do. Now, you're all grown up yet most of the public still has a difficult time viewing you as a young man even in the aftermath of the infamous sex tape. Was your song "Sexy Can I" inspired by that very public experience?
R.J.: No, it was inspired by me--my life and naughty-by-nature experiences. I love and respect women. I shaped my music based on how a woman would feel when she listens to my music. And I also want the fellas to be able to relate to it and maybe feel the way I do about a sexy woman. Even my latest single "Gifts" honors beautiful women with special gifts be it her lips, hips, love handles or whatever. I thank each and every woman for her own unique gift. With this album, I just want people to feel, laugh, cry and know that I'm only going to get better with time.
Essence.com: It's interesting that you say that you respect women because some might beg to differ again after the sex tape. What do you think of that public perception?
R.J.: Well, that's people who don't know me, but the people who do know me like the Whitney Houston's, the Lil Kim's, my sisters and my friends they want to hang out with me because we vibe, they're respectable people, I'm respectable people and it's all love--that's who I am.
Essence.com: As it should be. Would you consider yourself an opportunist?
R.J.: When an opportunity comes I want to be prepared for it. So am I prepared as far as my talent is concerned? Yes I am so that I can be prepared for any opportunity so I guess in that sense I am. I want to be prepared as an entertainer so that when you come to see me perform what you see is entertainment whether you think I'm good or bad, either way you are entertained.
Essence.com: After the tape was released was there a part of you that felt like the damage had already been done so why not capitalize on it?
R.J.: But I did not capitalize on that tape. I turned down about five or six deals some of them $2 million and $7 million dollar deals which added up to a lot of money. So yeah, I took the meetings because I wanted to hear what they had to say, but I turned down everything because it's not always about the money.
Essence.com: But I heard you were considering a deal to release your own brand of condoms. Is that true?
R.J.: Well, yes I'm still looking into the condoms. We all still need to practice safe sex at all times and everybody needs to use condoms so it's something I would definitely consider doing.
Essence.com: I'm sure walking away from all that money was a difficult decision to make. What was your parents' reaction to the sex-gate scandal? Did they ask, "Boy have you lost your mind?"
R.J.: I've gotten that and a lecture as I should receive from my parents. They've always been strict with me especially growing up, but they've also been supportive in helping me get through this.
Essence.com: And what was Brandy's advice to you?
R.J.: You know she understands I'm living my life just as she's living hers and that we have to be there for each other through thick and thin and the ups and downs and that's the way it always been between us and will remain.
Essence.com: Family has to stick together. So did your parents or your sister ever see the tape?
R.J.: No. They would never, no. We were just trying to get pass it because it was an uncomfortable situation for everybody and it still is. We try not to focus on it. We just never talk about it.
Essence.com: There have been rumors that you and Kim Kardashian collaborated on the release of the tape for profit and the promotion of your careers. Is that true?
R.J.: Everything has been said about that. All I can say is that so many things had to be worked out legally to take care of the damages [that the company that released it] was prepared to do that from the start.
Essence.com: So you two were paid for your troubles?
R.J.: We got taken care of for the damages that happened with the tapes release especially with all the profits that were made from it.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment