What made you choose right now to step into the spotlight and out from behind the scenes?

I was sick of making music and then not getting the proper attention. I was sick of the real songs that I felt like had content and were challenging, but they were slept on. Even in my whole career, I always felt like I made clever, thought-provoking songs. I felt like “There Goes My Baby,” “Daddy’s Home,” and “Motivation” challenged people because I said something that was common in a way that was uncommon. I was working on someone’s project, and giving my heart and soul to them, and I didn’t have any control over it. It stopped being fun to me. I don’t believe in playing it safe, but I can’t force somebody else to not do it. I can take that risk myself. I’ve sacrificed a lot, and lost out on a lot of money to do this because I’m happy. I know the music itself is going to sell overtime.

How do you feel about the state of R&B right now, being that you’ve contributed so much to it over the years? How do you feel about the marketing behind it?

It’s tough when you’re black. Sam Smith is singing those same songs. If Anthony Hamilton were to sing the same songs Sam Smith did, it would not have sold the same amount of albums. Think about this: John Legend had that huge record “All Of Me,” and it blew up when they made it a dance record. It blew up nearly a year after his album dropped, and that’s what happens. If a white guy puts his arm around us and says he’s going to give us a co-sign, it would skyrocket.

A lot of artists are making records that feel dated as well. You can’t expect the people to be with you if it doesn’t feel current. Even Sam Smith had some production that felt current. It’s up to them to figure out the formula, but it is difficult when you’re black. I hate to say it, but it’s been difficult for a long time. We got to find new ways to sell to the black community for one, and two, we have to make music that is relevant, formulas that work and stick to them.

Is there a song or project that you worked on for an artist that you kind of wish you had taken for yourself?

I worked on Usher’s last project, Looking For Myself, and they didn’t use any of the songs that I felt like they should’ve made singles. They didn’t push a lot of the things I would have, so I wish I would’ve kept those for myself.

What are your thoughts on the new streaming service Tidal?

Yeah, I think it’s really cool from what I can see. I haven’t educated myself on everything about it, so I don’t want to really comment on it. From what I understand, I think it’s a step in the right direction. I saw some girl tweet, “I’m not paying $15 for this and that to listen to music,” but you’ll pay $15 to eat food. You believe that the person who owns Starbuck’s deserves your money to drink coffee. You believe they have more value in what they sell, but I don’t have value in what I sell? It’s because we’ve become so accessible to the viewers, that they don’t respect us at all. When you’re so accessible, they don’t see you as important. I think the respect is gone, and they don’t respect the actual art and the craft because everyone is in their house making beats on the computer. From the surface, [Tidal] looks like an amazing opportunity for us to make money off of our work.