Cristian Alexanda Interview (2007)

Vor ein paar Tagen hatte MIO die Gelegenheit den australischen Superstar Cristian Alexanda zu einem Interview zu Treffen. Alexanda ist der wohl bekannteste RnB Sänger Australiens. Sein erstes Album "Chrisstyle" erreichte sofort Goldstatus. Anschließend tourte er mit Größen wie Sean Paul, 50 Cent, Obie Trice und Mr. Future. An seinem neuen Album arbeiteten unter anderem Styalz Fuego (chamillionaire), Froedge (Wu Tang) und Audius (Selwyn/Delta Goodrem). Für seine neuste Single "Too Fine" holte er sich Unterstützung bei dem mehrfach-plain Künstler Ja Rule. Das Video hat übrigens Erstausstrahlung bei uns...
M.I.O. Home of a Dynasty

MIO: It’s been a little over three years since your debut album Cristyle dropped, why did you decide to wait so long to release Urban Nature? Do you think you needed that time away for the fans to miss you?

CA: I do everything my way, and when you do it your way and don’t listen to producers and record companies etc, it takes time to get everything that you want done. So that’s what the whole process was, I’m sure Ja is doing that now as well, I’m sure he’s very hands on as well production wise. That’s what takes up your time, if you’re very hands on with everything, and I’ve been everywhere all around the world recording this, from New York to Melbourne you know what I mean, I’ve been everywhere.

MIO: Could you compare Urban Nature to Cristyle in terms of how you’ve grown and developed musically?

CA: Yeah I can compare it. I think this new album is so much hotter. I think the first album was hot, me and my girl used to sit there and be like ‘how the f*ck are you gonna top that sh*t?’ and you know thank God that it just happens man, I topped it. I had Ja, I had Fab, Styalz Fuego (up and coming producer from Melbourne, did Chamillionaire – Not a Criminal) is amazing, Revelino added some cuts, Audius. I mean the cats I got together for this album are probably the best urban cats Australia can produce right now, including myself (laughs).

MIO: There was a track on your myspace called ‘Round 2’ that was getting at a lot of the doubters and haters out there. You had a few words for Israel (another Australian R&B artist). What’s the situation there, you guys got a beef?

CA: Well I had a situation with Israel where he tried to sign me to New Firm, and he’s one of them cats that probably make too many promises and then don’t keep ‘em. I’m one of them cats you don’t make promises to if you can’t keep ‘em because I’m gonna voice my opinion a week later, you know what I mean? So that’s what happened with me and Israel man, he tried to keep me in a situation where I couldn’t be held down, and he tried to hold me down and it didn’t work out for him or me. It just is what it is, he’s a bitch n*gga anyway so f*ck it, it’s all good.

MIO: You don’t see the two of you coming together?

CA: Naaah! Nah, nah he’s all good, I aint got no beef with him but…Israel’s all good man, I aint got words for that cat. He does what he does and I do what I do.

MIO: Just keep it moving.

CA: That’s right, exactly.

MIO: So back to the collaborations, we all know you’ve got Ja, you got Nelly, you got Fabolous and T.I. did you say?

CA: Well we had T.I. but he’s in trouble right now with the law, I had a couple cats, I had Remy Ma. Remy Ma got busted the same week I was supposed to do a track with her.

MIO: Oh man, a whole bunch of rappers were in court that day.

CA: Yeah, see I try to keep it gangsta, the problem there is every gangsta I try to work with gets f*ckin’ arrested (laughs). I got in the day Ja and Lil’ Wayne got arrested.

MIO: Busta Rhymes was in court too.

CA: Yeah Lil’ Wayne got arrested, I was meant to be at that Lil’ Wayne concert but I chose to go to a meeting with my manager instead trying to handle business, but Ja and him got arrested that same night. I probably would’ve got deported if that were the case.

MIO: (Laughs) Hip Hop’s under attack man.

CA: That’s right, it’s crazy.

MIO: Were you actually in the studio recording with these guys? I know with Ja you were, but did you actually get to personally work with Fab and Nelly?

CA: I actually left the day these guys (points to his manager Dan) went and hooked up with Fab, but I left that day to go and handle some personal business back in Perth. I flew back a week later, but Fabolous I heard was nothing but a gentleman, he hung out for hours.

MIO: He’s a real ladies man.

CA: Yeah he’s a good man, he did his job. I wasn’t even there and the way he put it down was insane.

MIO: Yeah the chemistry was almost like you were in the studio with him recording.

CA: That’s right, that’s right. I’m gonna be doing a video with Fab real soon. Fuego’s done the original right now.

MIO: Oh for real? Up in New York?

CA: Yeah In New York, I’ll be going back there in March.

MIO: Get him to rock that green and gold Australia jacket that he was wearing in the “Breathe’ video.

CA: Yeeeah! Yeah, yeah I saw that!

MIO: Out of those 3 collaborations, which one are you feeling the most?

CA: I’ve always thought from day one that Ja was the man, since 3:36 I’ve loved Ja Rule. Murder Inc’s the new Deathrow to me, I just hope they don’t die like Deathrow. Me and Fuego are in the studio, we’re trying to do another track with Ja, give him that hit he needs. I mean Body is hot, but there’s still something left to put on there.

MIO: You heard Father Forgive Me?

CA: I’ve heard it all man. I got the Love Is Pain mixtape too, Too Fine is on that mixtape. We love that mixtape. (Dan yells ‘I’m startin’ to see the pain crack!’). I’ve been getting a lot of love since that mixtape.

MIO: From the moves you’ve been making on this album, is it fair to say you have real aspirations to make it big in the US?

CA: With the amount of money I’ve spent on this album I’ve got no choice but to go to the states. We’re talking to Motown right now, Atlantic and a lot of other labels. Even Ja’s there with Mpire and they need a cat like me, so we’ll see.

MIO: The video for the lead single ‘Too Fine’ was recently shot in New York, what can we expect from the video? We’ve seen a few pictures of you and Ja in the record store.

CA: Yeah we shot that up in Brooklyn. That was my idea for a backdrop, just all the classic vinyls that made me what I am right now. I came up with the concept, the song is called ‘Too Fine’ and these days you’ve got to put a lot of girls in the video, so I was like how are we going to come up with a video where we put a lot of girls in it. So I was like, why don’t we do a video where the audition process is to be in the video for me and Ja. It was just me and Ja and a bunch of girls, it was tight man, it was a great day. Ja was my n*gga that day, I’m looking forward to seeing him again real soon.

MIO: Do you see this project bringing a lot of exposure to Australia’s music scene; do you think we’ll see more Aussie artists working with artists from the states?

CA: I hope so, I’m trying to be the young R&B/Urban entrepreneur for Australia, that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to show the world that Australia has R&B like they have rock you know what I mean? I don’t mean to diss anyone, but cats out here aren’t doing it like I’m doing it. They haven’t got the people that I’ve got working with me, they can’t put it together like how I’ve done it. I wanna be that young Jimi Barns! That cat that goes worldwide with it.

MIO: How are your producing skills coming along? Last time I heard you were just learning to play the keyboard.

CA: Yeah I was on the keys doing a little something, trying to put together a couple of guitar notes. But what I did was, I did this whole album myself, I wrote and produced Too Fine and all the joints on the album, and then I took it to better producers for them to put their spin on it. I know when someone can do a better job than me so I did what I could do and then took it to better produces and that’s what you hear today.

MIO: What about a career in acting, are you still pursuing that?

CA: Ja told me he had a couple of movies coming up and I said to him ‘we’re boys now, you’ve got to let me try out for them’. He told me I could have a spot on any of those movies. So I’m trying to get back there by March and hold that n*gga to his word man.

MIO: What do you think of the current state of music, not just the urban scene but music in general? Do you think it’s a bit stale at the moment?

CA: I think it’s gone up and down a lot. You get good and then you get the same sh*t. You’re always going to get that good and bad, music is music, but you can really tell when an artist is feeling what they are doing and giving it what they’ve got. I don’t mean to call out any names, but I’ve been one of Nelly’s biggest fans and some of the stuff he’s doing lately, you can tell he’s just rich right now. I heard that joint he did with Ashanti…I don’t know what’s going on there. I think she needs to go back to Ja, that’s what Ashanti needs, she needs to recognise where she came from.

MIO: I’m not sure if that’s what Rule needs right now though. It seems like he’s kind of been there and done that and doesn’t really have anything to prove in that sense.

CA: That new girl that’s on Body.

MIO: Ashley Joi.

CA: Yeah she’s amazing. She’s amazing man, I wanna do track with her real soon.

MIO: Are there any other artists that your feeling right now, what are you listening to?

CA: (Points to Dan) This dude keeps making me listen to f*ckin’ Chris Brown.

MIO: (What was that joint that was playing today?)

CA: (Free?)

MIO: (Naw, Kiss Kiss.)

CA: Yeah Kiss Kiss. I dunno man, Chris Brown alright. I love Ja man, I love Ja’s new album.

MIO: You’re not just saying that because you worked with him?

CA: Nah nah nah, I’ve been anticipating what Ja, Nelly and Fab are going to do next. I’m telling you Ja hasn’t let me down, Fab hasn’t let me down, I don’t know what Nelly is doing, and that 50 Cent cat man, f*ck him.

MIO: Are there any producers or artists you’d like to work with in the future?

CA: Yeah Cool and Dre, I got beats from Cool and Dre, DJ Clue, um…I’d love to work with Dre but I heard there are a lot of people behind Dre and that help him out. Irv Gotti, Seven, I got beats coming from Seven…um, I wanna be on Ja’s next single, he’s on my single and I wanna be on his. That’s what we’re looking for right now.

MIO: That’s just about it man, is there anything you want to get out to the fans before we finish?

CA: I wanna say thanks to everybody that’s representing for me worldwide from Germany to New York. Thank you for letting people hear me, you told me a lot of people have been asking about me. Shout out to murderinc-online, myspace people, I’m telling you man there’s some good things coming from R&B and Hip Hop and hopefully Ja Rule and Cristian Alexanda will be rocking the Grammies next year.