Bobby Valentino Exclusive Interview

Femalefirst.co.uk Exclusive 15 Minutes with R&Bs newest smoothy Bobby Valentino

Hey Bobby how you doing today? "Awesome." Cool, I need to know - is Bobby Valentino your real name?

"No its not, Bobby is my real name, Valentino is my alter ego. It was a nickname given to me as a young’n so it just kinda stuck with me.

I was supposed to be born on Valentines Day and I arrived a couple of weeks later so, Valentino like he is such a ladies man, he [Bobby] gonna be a ladies man so it just stuck with me."

You’re signed to Def Jam and are officially the first R&B signing to Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace Records and have a no1 album in the states - is this like all your dreams come true or what?

"Yeah definitely, you know this is something that you work for, something that you dream for and for it to come true for you it’s a great thing."

Is Ludacris really as crazy as he looks?

"Yeah, you know I think Luda is an actor so he’s able to turn it on and off when ever he wants to, so that’s one thing about him. He is very calm, he a very cool person."

You started out in music when you were 13 years old in the R&B vocal group Mista, what lessons have you learnt from your past?

"That was my kinda internship. I learnt that you really have to sell yourself as an individual and as an artist. I also learned that this is a business, so you have to handle it according to that.

So I learnt a lot from that and I am glad I had the opportunity to be in the group because it taught me so much now that I’m grown."

Do you still speak to the guys from Mista?

"Yeah we still talk every now and then. There are no hard feelings, we all cool."

Who or what has been your biggest musical influence and inspiration?

"My biggest musical influences are the older artists like Prince, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and The Isley Brothers. Those types of artists, just to name a few, are the artists I look up to.

They inspire me on my album to do good music."

So have you met any of your idols yet?

"Yeah, I met a few of my idols but I haven’t had the chance to meet Prince or Stevie Wonder yet."

There are many R&B albums coming out this year - what makes DTP Presents Bobby Valentino different from all the rest?

"Mine is different because we doin it right through from beginning to end and its real music. There is a lot of live instrumentation with Hip Hop beats behind it so I think that’s what sets mine apart.

I’m not really doin the hot stuff right now, what people are already doin. I feel like I’m doin something a little bit different, something that sets me apart from everyone else."

Who are you feeling in R&B and Hip Hop right now?

"All those artists that I just named before, I’m like an old skool head; I listen to a lot of old skool music. Anita Baker, Jodeci and all of the artists I named a while ago. Those are all artists I still listen to, to this day."

You have been quoted as saying that you ‘hold females in very high esteem.’ What is the most romantic thing you have ever done for a lady?

"The most romantic thing is just doin all the things that she wants me to do. Just finding out the things like, what kinda girl she is and finding out the things that she wants to do. What I like to do is something different that the females never had before.

Any guy can take a girl to a restaurant or to the movies, but I like to do something different for her, something that she never experienced, that she will always remember for her life."

I know the English girls would love ‘Some Bobby’ - what do you think about the English ladies?

"I love the English ladies, they beautiful. They have a different aura about them and they are a little different from the American women. American girls are little bit more forward, but English girls are more laid back, more chilled."

Who is new single ‘Slow Down’ written about?

"It’s written about a girl I never met."

So there is a girl walking around American who doesn’t even know that the song is written about her - that’s pretty cool?

"It might be you, you ever been to LA or Melrose?"

You are only a young guy 23 to be precise - how much has your life changed since the album took off?

"I still feel the same but you know it’s changed because people look at you differently when you’re on TV, so that’s the only change for me. I like to talk a lot but I realise that when you’re in the limelight you really can’t say stuff that you want to say - that’s the change that I had to make."

So, what is the most extravagant thing you have brought so far?

"A house."

Nice, so what’s the next step for Bobby Valentino?

"I’m about to start an 8-week tour in the states and then I’m gonna come back to the UK and do a lil something around September."

I’m sure all you fans over here can’t wait for that. Do you have a message for the readers of Femalefist.co.uk

"I love yall, all yall".

Slow Down is released 20th June - Bobby’s debut album Disturbing Tha Peace Presents Bobby Valentino is out now - Keep an eye out for Bobby this weekend on a TV near you!

www.defjam.co.uk

Sarah Williams