I’ll never forget the day that I first played “Nothing” for my sister, Joy. She had stopped by my brownstone in Harlem and she immediately responded to the record by saying, “That’s a great summer song – I can already hear it playing in the Park.” Consistent with her premonition, I knew that I had to play that song live when the got the news from Ed Woods that this Summer Stage gig was confirmed:
Central Park is an amazing venue. There were more than 5,000 people who actually made it into the performance area and another few thousand that were turned away. On my way into the park, I stopped for a small group that had been denied access, just to reach out to them and let them know I appreciate their continued support. As I hit the stage, I noticed an especially excited cheering squad in the front row, and had the honor of catching up with them (Chantel, Makila, Ayeshia, and Treminka) after the show. They were kind enough to share their responses to the performance. Thank you all for expecting greatness from me. I give you my word that I will always give everything I can possibly give…and thank you Joy for speaking this into existence!
As I boarded my plane home from Amsterdam Saturday morning, I was recognized for the first time by a staff member at an international airport. “Didn’t I see you on television yesterday?” my ticket agent asked. “Yes!” I replied:
Shout out to Doutzen Kroes for welcoming me to her hometown and bringing some great people to the show. Even more special to me is the fact that my grandfather (“Opa” in Dutch) lives in Amsterdam and thoroughly enjoys knowing that I’m pursuing my dream with vigor and passion and people are responding! Thanks to everyone who took pictures with me before the show. I’ll always remember my first European show with my band. Here’s to many many more!!
I’ve received many questions about this song, including one today while I was answering tweets from 30,000 feet on my flight to LA. “I-R-I-N-A” is the spelling of my friend Irina Shayk’s name. Google her. Before I made my James Brown inspired video, I produced and shot this “Diamond Girl” campaign with her:
I enlisted my very good friend, photographer Pieter Henket to shoot the elaborate photo story. Over the course of two shooting days about a week apart, I worked with a team of professionals and interns to shut down the 30th Street Heliport in New York City and a massive suite at the historic Pierre Hotel on 5th Avenue. I became fast friends with Iri and the song is really about the excitement of getting to know someone new that inspires you the way she did me. The lyric “I might not speak your language” in the song refers to the fact that when we were shooting, she was still learning English as she’s from Russia. You can hear her accent when she speaks in her Sports Illustrated videos. She’s an amazing girl and we’re still great friends. Here are a few photos from the story (you can click to enlarge):
I learned so much from this experience that I could write a few pages about the lessons! Hit me if you have any more questions and thanks to Brittany Hall and everyone else who’s asked about ‘I-R-I-N-A’ for inspiring this post.
I’ve been asked quite a few times which I prefer more, being an artist or being a producer. I always reply that I love both equally and I especially enjoy when I can add value in both capacities to a record for someone else. In this case it’s remarkable to note that this record was conceived backstage at a show six months before I was able to actualize the concept in-studio:
Looking at the tracklisting for Rick Ross’ album, you’ll see that this record is missing. Our schedules were such that we were only able to facilitate the collaboration once that album had already been closed. Look for this to appear on his next one (or on mine)!
When everyone is sleeping on my tour bus and it’s 5:21am, it’s good to be able to send out a message and get a friendly response from someone else in the world who’s up. On my way into Chicago, I posted an update offering passes to my show and Britney Clark was the first to respond:
I appreciate Britney and everyone else who’s following my career as it unfolds. You make the journey that much more worth the while. Thank you!
I was on my tour bus when I heard the news that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital. Almost immediately it seemed as though the world held its breath, hanging on the words of the media outlets they trusted to tell them he was going to pull through. I received a flurry of text messages and phone calls. I did my best to hold back tears when CNN finally confirmed his passing, and I honored his contribution to history with a moment of silence at my show in Atlanta that night:
The reverence I experienced in the room at that moment will stay with me for life.
The end of this clip shows me reverting back to my childhood for a moment during soundcheck. For a few seconds, I took off my cool and became the little boy that believed I could be just like him. I’m sure many of us can remember what came over us when we saw Michael perform. We wanted to dance like he did – to feel the exhilaration and pass on the electricity that we’d just experienced. I appreciate Michael’s contribution to my life. In many ways his music, videos, and live performances lit the spark in me to pursue the career path that I chose as a young teenager. His ability to bring people together in peace and celebration serves as a standard to which we as entertainers are all measured.
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