ANTHONY HAMILTON MAKES HIS 'POINT': New disc from North Carolina soul man

      That first award will surely just be one of many accolades the soulster is set to acquire through his career.

      With his third album, “The Point of it All’, Hamilton takes his distinctive, throaty vocals to another level.

      “The point of it all is one of those things you have to spend time with and pay attention to,” he said, explaining the title to EUR’s Lee Bailey. “We walk through this thing called life looking for something; whether it be love, friendship… we tend to be searching for something. My thing is to make people aware, even the walk, the things that you encounter day-to-day – relationships, friendships, loss - and really assess what your journey is all about. Most of us are looking for love, I’ve found.”

       The disc features tracks that speak to the title in one way or another and Hamilton said that listeners will easily get the message of the title once they dive into the songs.

      “I think people get it. The album itself, with the songs on the album it all comes together.”

      Hamilton’s sound is reminiscent of ‘60s soul and, at times, even his Grammy partner Al Green. Like Green, Hamilton is culpable for bringing church into his performances.

      “Most people, when you go out on tour, you look for sexier moments of the performance. It just so happens, with me, that’s what’s important. Every day when you wake up you pray, when you go to bed you pray, you pray over your meals, so why not acknowledge God at a concert when everybody’s in there,” he said. “Being a Christian, I think I should include all of it. Being Christian doesn’t mean you don’t have those sexy moments. I want people to know you can come to a concert and laugh, cry, dance, feel sexy and still praise the Lord, as long as it’s in context. I’m not going to say ‘sh*t’ and dammit and then say, ‘Praise the Lord.’”

      “People know that this is what Anthony Hamilton’s about,” he continued. “This is important to him. Most people come there looking for it. It just became a part of what I’ve done.”

      An amalgamation of soul, R&B, funk, hip-hop, and gospel – Hamilton just refers to his grouping as good music. The lead single from the new disc, titled “Cool,” features hip-hopster David Banner.

      “I love hip-hop all the way back to Run D.M.C. and Curtis Blow,” Hamilton said of pulling in the genre. “I love the beat, and the heart in it and the creativity.”

      David Banner was one of a handful of rap artists that Hamilton said he was looking to work with. Banner was the first to make a move and the final product was “perfect,” according to Hamilton. The song talks about conquering the world even though money is tight.

      “Once David did it, it came out perfect. He showed another side of David Banner that was quite funny and what the song needed. The song is supposed to be light-hearted, but still dealing with where we are right now with the economy,” he described. “I wanted people to be able to laugh through the pain and accept the fact that things are changing, but we have to make a step to redirect our finances, and think, ‘Remember when we used to have and go out and spend money all night long?’ We can’t do it right now, but we remember when and we can laugh about it.”

      Hamilton also recruited Latino Producers the Avila Brothers for the disc.

      “They know good music. They studied it; they grew up with it. Being Mexican doesn’t make you less soulful. I’ve seen some bad Fedoras on a Mexican man. They’ve studied African American culture and soul music,” he said of the California natives. “They get it more than some of the brothers. I’ve been wanting to work with them for years.

      Hamilton liked their work so much; he actually did three songs by the Avila Brothers. One, the ballad on his new disc, is called “Please Stay.” Hamilton said that one will appear on an upcoming inspirational album, and the third he’s saving to perform as a duet with Mary J. Blige.

      “The Point of it All” is available in stores now. To find out more about Anthony Hamilton, visit his site at www.anthonyhamilton.com.

Watch Anthony Hamilton & David Banner perform 'Cool':

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