As Robin Thicke has taken his native homeland by storm he is set to do the exact same with the UK. His second official album The Evolution of Robin Thicke houses a bevy of hits, written and performed by the Los Angeles native and which many of us may be very familiar with already.Having been made comfortable at Interscope records since he was a youngster, Robin Thicke has never had a problem in garnering the attention of the major players in the music industry. His ability to write a song was what caused Interscope’s head honcho Jimmy Iovine to sign him to a deal after the sixteen year old had aligned himself with Andre Harrell.The man who gave Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs a chance was also a great influence in the emergence of Robin Thicke. "Andre was the first to really believe in me and went out and promoted me to the people who he thought needed to know me and explained to them that I was going to be something special." And it was this promotion that saw him situated at possibly the worlds most prestigious urban record label working under production genius Pharrell Williams Star Trak label.Even though his first major album release, A Beautiful World didn’t move impressive units, which unfortunately in today’s environment equates to success or failure, it did receive positive reviews from the critics. But like the man himself states "people tend to think that if you don’t sell millions of records the first time out then you aren’t going to make it." But what was of crucial importance to Robin Thicke was the connects he made through his work. "I got to make amazing contacts and got to work with Mary J Blige, Usher and Lil Wayne" and these are undoubtedly names that can not be disregarded. And Lil Wayne shows up on the soon to be released album twice with the chemistry between the two artists more than obvious. Talking about his experience working with the Cash Money Millionaire he said, "Lil Wayne came in at midnight and left at three and we were done with our song. He loved my first album and he put one of my tracks from that on his new album and I called him and said if he was ever in LA he should call by and do something for my new album and that was it. It was great."But even with names like Lil Wayne, Faith Evans and his now label boss Pharrell Williams in attendance on The Evolution of Robin Thicke, this lyrical seducer could quite easily stand on his own two feet void of all collaborations and partnerships. His ability to write a song as well as perform one puts him in the same league as Carol King, Lauryn Hill and the more current Ne-Yo. Even though he started out as a song writer he stands steady in saying "it was my initial dream [to perform my work] and then because of fear and failure and actually the fear of putting myself out there and being criticized or ridiculed I started writing and producing for other people and I took years and years of just sitting on my ass." But thankfully he realized one day that he had to start working on his own music and from that revelation came the Evolution of Robin Thicke.The album which has slowly gone platinum in the US is a real look into the man who penned it. Albums to artists are literally like children and this one is no different. If anything it is just a little more special and respecting the consumers and fans, Robin Thicke wanted to ensure that people not only felt the same way he felt about this album, but also that they felt they had gained value for money.
"I felt that people deserved to get their moneys worth. It took me two years to make this album and I wrote 60/70 songs and I felt like I didn’t want the people to get the music and then wish they wanted more. I wanted them to feel that they were getting a huge amount of music that they can listen to and love for a very long time." So with sixteen tracks and three bonus tracks I doubt there will be many disappointed in what this album exemplifies.
With a run of emotions flowing freely through the album, its author explained in great detail where such thoughts and emotions came from "I think this entails what we all try our best to do and don’t necessarily accomplish and that is be a better person and put right mistakes we may have made, and we are trying to evolve into a happier place. You know there have been times when I have fallen flat on my face and have had to get back up and start over and I think everyone goes through the emotions of that and going through the motions of needing love and its universal with the stories I have on this album. There are things on there that everyone in the world goes through at some point in their life; you know redemption and overcoming all the obstacles that they come up against."
This undeniable original soul who whispers nothing but individuality into our ears with his words and melodies has made a name for himself in the US and you can guarantee he will do the exact same here in the UK when The Evolution of Robin Thicke hits shelves on June 25th.