Jaheim

Fans want to know!!

Tell me about JULIES DREAM MUSIC GROUP ? -Kindra, Detroit
 
Julie's Dream Music Group Is mine, I started it in 1997 just in my mind. I said I'm going to bring my mamma back into existence. In this dream I kept having she was there telling me “one day you're gonna be free, and I didn't get it until one day something just said Jah go ahead and just start a company. I signed a contract that left me in a bind for over a decade (with a record label). I made millions of dollars for this corporation. I sold 1.9 million out of the box, I feel like we could have even sold more but I just felt that I wasn't happy. Everybody else was happy with me. All I really ever wanted to be was a star, so I started a few companies to be in control of my music.
 
Who is your favorite producer? - LaKeyla, Detroit
Favorite hip- hop producer? Dr. Dre is really one of my all time fav producers. Listening to hip-hop early in the game RunDMC, Fat Boys, and all of that was  East Coast but somehow Dr. Dre was always in the picture for me. He was always my favorite rapper, when I didn't really know too much about hip-hop, I was big was on Easy E, Cyprus Hill and that whole West Coast connection over there. I had a chance to meet DJ Quick he is a great producer, there's also Battlecat, it's a lot of good producers but I would definitely have to say Dre. He was the pioneer of the West coast. Then you have the East Coast producers, I would say Puff Daddy is the most ingenious in hip-hop. When it comes to producing most people would probably said Swizz Beatz. I wouldn't disagree with that, when you say hip-hop you have to be careful because people get defense, but I feel safe saying Puff Daddy. You can't just judge it on what he's doing now and he may be a little quiet as opposed to what it used to be when he was hot as fishgrease, but he still is hot. But then again most producers don't produce the records that's why I said Puffy but he knows how to put the right people in the right places. As far as R&B I would have to say Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder. (laughs) I've been in the studio so long I don't even know who's doing what now days.
 
What do you do to relax and help you write? - Antea, Detroit
If I want to write a good song I'll drink some tea with honey and ginger, then I will light a candle and I'll just think. The first thing that comes to my mind I write about it. I think when you get writer's block you're tired you need to get a snack, take a break, lay down for a few hours, you're thinking too much you might be stressed out. If you have a good writing partner, it's always good to have more than one person writing with you, if you get stuck it's still your idea but you have someone around you to help you to get it back on track.
 
What has changed in R&B from when you you first came in the game to now?! Is R&B becoming a dead art? (i.e. low record sales, no radio support)  -Joey Montana, Boston
It really is, I think I'm getting tired. Honestly, I am tired, but what keeps me going is that I know I'm a seed in a new generation.  Even though my time is going to pass. We all have to graduate with time. Somebody else is going to come along and We're going to have to embrace that. It's my job to foresee that future and put all of that talent out. R&B is dying, I heard Tyrese say something and at the time that I heard it I didn't 100% agree because I was in denial of saying maybe the business turned this way for a reason. They did it for a reason. Maybe we were getting paid too much money. What happens when people don't want you to work anymore? They fire you and they hire someone to take cheaper wages. But it's also about the future too, somebody gave me and opportunity, and someone else needs to have an opportunity, and that other person needs to have that 2nd opportunity. But if you're working hard then you will always have opportunities. I work hard and It's killin' me. (laughs)
 
From your perspective, How can we be more uplifting to the  women from within the  music industry? -Ralph, Detroit 
With songs like “Appreciation Day” and “Put That Woman First.” You know what it is too, I don't know if I'm allowed to say this but, it's kinda like the women have to make the change too. It's a lot of female rappers out here that say “I'm that B” “I'm this and that” and it's a thing that comes with the territory. You need more songs about Black Girl Lost, Brenda's Got a Baby, and songs that can help these young women to stop having sex before it's time. I'll be honest I believe that for the future's sake we have to start teaching our children male and female to appreciate what you have, because If I could start over and do it all again I would have never started when I started. I started very early. If I would have just waited patiently it would have been better.
(He goes off topic to say)
All of the stories that we were hearing about love and this and that, and when you finally get a chance to experience it, some people get love, and like any great opportunity in life, they take advantage of it. Some people end up in certain situations like disease and all kinds of stuff and people like me get to learn from that, that's what you call wisdom. Because it's serious, you could live your whole life chasing and running around sleeping with this one and that one and you wake up one day and realize that this is the life you chose. So you can't be mad that you can't find love now because you weren't ready to receive it. You have to know what you want. Life can move by fast. I say that for us all, you have to know what it is you want. What I wanted in life is what I have, what you see me with. I didn't care about all these women running around, I mean I did, but what I really wanted is what I have. When I got what I wanted, I always heard what everybody else wanted and what everybody else ooh'd and ahh'd about but sometime you can get those things too and it can hurt you. So you can't want what everybody else has, you have to love what you got. It's about The little things you have until the Creator says “Let it Be” just enjoy the fruits.
 
Do you feel that there is a void in the area of R&B males singers? If you look at the landscape right now who do you feel is a leader that has a solid fan base and solid musical career? -Edmund Columbus, OH
 
Now, I'd say Usher, when I hear him I can tell it's him. Usher refuses to let someone else take his crown.
 
How has your music changed over the  years, have your inspirations changed? How you translates that to your music? -Charlotte, Detroit
 
My music evolved naturally through observation in what people want to hear and having that 3rd ear around me, more ears than mine. My inspirations are my morals. I can say that I'm inspired by The Creator in these days now. Just looking at how he created all of this, and just things we can't figure out, I'm inspired by his creations. When I get on a plane and I look at all that he's created. I say MANNNN!!!! I used to be scared of heights, but now I know he got me.