LOUISIANA PAPARAZZI:August 4, 2009
Ms. Keri “Baby” Hilson covers the Complex Magazine Aug/Sept ‘09 issue.
Kid Cudi is on the other side. This is the Style & Design issue.
So does Keri Hilson and Kid Cudi come to mind when you think about Style & Design? We know Cudi is really into fashion and sneakers. As for Keri, we think she has a swagger too.
An artist by the name of So-Me hooked up Keri’s artwork. He’s also done a number of videos for Kanye West. Check a bit of what she had to say in Complex.
How do you feel about your album and the way people are receiving it? It’s tough out here right now.
Keri Hilson: It’s doing very well. Especially given this industry—even though the business is hurting, the album is still achieving its projections. I’m proud of the album, but you can never expect how the world will receive you or your music.
So far, your biggest hits have been performed by other artists—Britney Spears, Omarion. Does that fact bother you at all?
Keri Hilson: No, it’s money in the bank. That’s my means of living. There’s two sides of me, and neither takes preference. One is just a dream that I fought long and hard for. Songwriting was my Plan B. My whole life, I’ve fought to just do this. I didn’t know that I’d be able to take off as far, or as fast, as I did, but I knew I had a talent and that I should pursue it, because there’s money in it. When I wasn’t able to perform, and lost the record deal, I took the path of Plan B, and now I love them equally. I can’t have one without the other. Even at my biggest, I want to be writing for other artists. Even at my peak—the highest I can be as an artist—I always want to be keeping my creative juices flowing, keeping money in the bank, putting my intellectual property out there.
Your singles, “Energy” and “Turnin Me On,” are remarkably different from each other.
Keri Hilson: I was very wary of that. Years ago, I wanted to be like the girl Ne-Yo. You know, with the mid-tempo ballads—I come from the Babyface era. But that’s not trendy, that’s not hip-hop. These days, you have to play it a different way. “Turnin Me On” did things that “Energy” could not have done in this day and time.
Keri Hilson: It’s doing very well. Especially given this industry—even though the business is hurting, the album is still achieving its projections. I’m proud of the album, but you can never expect how the world will receive you or your music.
So far, your biggest hits have been performed by other artists—Britney Spears, Omarion. Does that fact bother you at all?
Keri Hilson: No, it’s money in the bank. That’s my means of living. There’s two sides of me, and neither takes preference. One is just a dream that I fought long and hard for. Songwriting was my Plan B. My whole life, I’ve fought to just do this. I didn’t know that I’d be able to take off as far, or as fast, as I did, but I knew I had a talent and that I should pursue it, because there’s money in it. When I wasn’t able to perform, and lost the record deal, I took the path of Plan B, and now I love them equally. I can’t have one without the other. Even at my biggest, I want to be writing for other artists. Even at my peak—the highest I can be as an artist—I always want to be keeping my creative juices flowing, keeping money in the bank, putting my intellectual property out there.
Your singles, “Energy” and “Turnin Me On,” are remarkably different from each other.
Keri Hilson: I was very wary of that. Years ago, I wanted to be like the girl Ne-Yo. You know, with the mid-tempo ballads—I come from the Babyface era. But that’s not trendy, that’s not hip-hop. These days, you have to play it a different way. “Turnin Me On” did things that “Energy” could not have done in this day and time.
Peep the rest of the interview here.
