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REGGAE UPDATES FROM JAMAICA: Kevin's Q&A with Robin S
There’s more to her than 'Show Me Love'
*Robin S. was signed to Atlantic Record subsidiary Big Beat Records in 1993. She is best known for the gold selling debut single Show Me Love, as well as the dance numbers I Want to Thank You, It Must Be Love and Luv For Luv. She also garnered R&B chart action with the stirring ballad What I Do Best.
Her follow up album From Now On released in 1997 on Atlantic Records reflected broader interests for Robin S., encompassing gospel and contemporary R&B ballads and high energy dance floor grooves. The album sold about 100,000 copies in the US by the end of its chart run.
These days, Robin S. continues to tour and record. Though she is no longer signed to a record label, she is hoping to get the right deal and promotional muscle to take her music into the next millennium. She recently recorded a new song with up-and-coming European artist Honest, whose debut album is expected later this year.
This writer caught up with Robin S while she was in Jamaica recently to perform at a Father’s Day concert at the Hilton Kingston hotel.
Kevin Jackson: This is your second visit to Jamaica. How has it been this time in comparison to the last time that you were here?
Robin S: Well I didn’t get to see too much of it the last time. We came in, did the show and we left. This time I love it, I actually love it.
KJ: How has the musical journey been for you?
Robin S: Its been wonderful in all sincerity its been a joyous ride. I’ve been on this roller coaster of not performing, to performing to not performing to performing a little bit. Its taken me through every facet of life and it has made me deal with every facet of life.
KJ: How did the Robin S name come about?
R: My birth name is Robin Jackson. My father was a professional boxer who went by the name Stonewall Jackson. In the beginning when I just came out, there were so many Jacksons. You had Michael, Janet, Millie and Keisha Jackson. So we decided to use Robin Stone which was part of my father’s boxing name. We dropped the Stone and kept the S.
KJ: You started out singing in the church before you got signed to the label. How was that for you and how did it change things for you?
R: I did just about every facet of music. The only thing I hadn’t done was sing background for artistes. When I got signed to the label, I don’t think I was necessarily very excited. My singing wasn’t something that someone gave me. It was a gift from God. I was more excited when I did venues of 20,000 or 30,000 people than I was when I got a record deal.
KJ: Were you surprised at the success of Show Me Love?
R: Yes I was surprised. After I heard the playback on the song, I didn’t like it. I never expected it to do what it did. I can remember vividly when it was released in Europe first, it debuted at number 20. Every week it went up further on the charts. Then the song crossed over to the states. I flipped through the radio stations and every one was playing Show Me Love.
KJ: How did touring and recording affect your role as a mother?
R: My children were studio babies. I was pregnant while recording in the studios. My girls sing and my son raps. My oldest daughter sang background for me when she was 16. She is a beautiful writer. She is the only one who can double my voice perfectly. Motherhood was a challenge, because when Show Me Love just came out, I had just given birth to my son, but I had a wonderful support system. My sister took care of my children. When I wasn’t performing, I would just close off the world and spend time with my children. It had been a lifelong dream for me since I was a kid to be a performer. When we were younger, our parents would ask us what we wanted to become when we older. When I told them I wanted to be a singer, they said it wasn’t lucrative, not stable and doesn’t have longevity. Inevitably when I look back, I have and still am fulfilling my dream. Now my kids are grown and I am helping them to fulfill their dreams. I have four grandchildren and one on the way. Its always been about my children. I did a lot to give them a better life. If you can afford to have the nicer things but never forget where you come from nor the struggles you had to endure, it makes you appreciate life so much better.
Robin S performs 'Show Me Love':
KJ: What new are you working on right now?
R: The track that I just worked on with an artiste called Honest and he’s from Amsterdam. The song is called Make You Feel Good was produced by Solid Soul. The song is very slamming and they’re considering making it the first single from his album. We had so much fun doing the track. I also re-released Show Me Love and its been getting a lot of airplay. I also did a song called At My Best with my nephew who is a rapper called CTK.
KJ: Did record label politics interfere with your weight or how you looked?
R: I was always told I was overweight and that I had to lose weight and maintain a certain figure. I had to be something that I am not. I represent a life for full figured women. I represent letting them know that it comes from within first. I have always been full figured from as long as I can remember. When I lost weight, I was still considered full figured. I don’t think that I should be judged by other people by what I look like if I am presenting myself in a fashionable yet well preserved manner. I am a singer and that’s what you should judging me on. I give kudos to people like Martha Wash, the Weather Girls, Jennifer Hudson or anyone who is full figured. We live, we breathe, we have emotions and we are talented. I don’t have to sell anything but my vocals. Its nice to be thin, but I’m fortysomething and I am really happy in the shell that I dwell right now. My weight fluctuates sometimes and its been that way all my life. I don’t make any excuses for it. As long as my health is not in jeopardy, I am ok with it. I probably didn’t get the things I could have gotten with the record label because of my weight, but I am still here. God is still blessing me and leading and opening up doors for me.
KJ: What happened why you parted ways with the record label?
R: I think it was a mutual agreement. Everyone has their season and their time and I think my time and my season was up. I couldn’t be happier right now. It affords me to do anything with anybody musically and I don’t have to seek permission. On one hand I don’t have the tour or distribution support; but I am able to do whatever I want to do. The label didn’t know what to do with me. I am not a dance artiste. I sing R&B, gospel and jazz. I do have the different facets but no one wants to hear that.
KJ: What kind of advice would you pass on to anyone new in the industry based on your experiences?
R: To learn about the industry first. Take time out to learn about the ins and the outs. The snakepits and the snakes. The intricate stuff that no one wants to tell you. Learn how to become the businessman or woman with your craft and don’t rely on other people to guide you through things. That’s basically what I am teaching a group called Five Verses that I am working with. I didn’t want them to go out and spend the money to work at someone else’s studio. I build a studio at my house for myself as well as for them. Teaching them how to run a studio and to more responsible with their business. The thing is with the record labels, if you do not consider yourself as a commodity then you will be take advantage of. If you look at yourself as a commodity or merchandise in demand, you will learn how to become a better entrepreneur. I had to learn the hard way and it was a very expensive lesson that I learnt.
KJ: Did you forsee the problems that the industry is experiencing today?
R: yes I did. The people that are in the industry now (and its no disrespect because God knows I am looking for another label). There are no more Clive Davis’ out there. I love Clive Davis, never had the opportunity to meet him, wish, want to and would love to. I know that I can sell, I know I can do what I did ten years ago. There are no more Berry Gordy’s out there. There are no more people that are willing to take the time to cultivate, nurture or train. Everything is about instinct. We are now living in an industry where it doesn’t matter what you sing about as long as you threw it up on the wall and it sticks. Where is the music theory? Who’s taking music theory in college? Who knows the history of music anymore? Its all about who you know and how long you’ve known them, and how you look. I know how Clive worked with Whitney and how he held her back until the time was right for her to come out and he didn’t make her compromise who she was even though she was a model and a superstar’s daughter and a superstar’s niece. The Wendy Motens, she is wonderful. She does a lot of soundtrack music and she is a great singer. She sounds just like Whitney. But she is full figured. There’s no one in the industry who is willing to take the chance.
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