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http://www.vibe.com/content/blast-from-past-el-debarge-comeback-prison-stint-rza
Blast From The Past: El Debarge On Comeback, Prison Stint & Working With RZA
VIBE.COM By: kmurphy
Posted 8-4-2010 12:03 pm
Blast From The Past: El Debarge On Comeback, Prison Stint & Working With RZA
VIBE.COM By: kmurphy
Posted 8-4-2010 12:03 pm
El DeBarge speaks just like he sings. Controlled yet passionate. Whispery yet cool. Soft yet confident. Such attributes were front and center during his astonishing performance at 2010’s BET Awards. There he was, making one of television’s most memorable comebacks. During a medley of some of the biggest hits of DeBarge, the vastly underrated family group he fronted, the 49-year-old’s voice resembled the same heart-stirring falsetto that made such ’80s and ‘90s staples as “I Like It,” “All This Love,” “Rhythm Of The Night,” and the Quincy Jones’ produced “The Secret Garden” indelible numbers. The hip-hop generation knew every word written by the singer/songwriter/producer (the Notorious BIG’s mammoth 1995 hit “One More Chance/Stay With Me Remix” was just one of many songs that has sampled from the DeBarge catalogue over the years). And no one was more humbled by the standing ovation he received that evening than El.
Following several high profile run-ins with the law, in 2008, El DeBarge was sent to prison on a two-year bid for drug possession of crack cocaine. Battles with substance abuse have played a dark role in the otherwise rich legacy of the DeBarge family from late big brother Bobby to the youngest sibling Chico. But El plans to make the most of his return. The re-energized and clean performer is set to release his first new album in 16-years Second Chance. For El, the aptly-titled Geffen set, due out September 28, is bigger than music. It’s a resurrection. VIBE gets the story from the man himself.—Keith Murphy
VIBE: Take us back to your surprising comeback at this years BET Awards. What was going through your mind as you were performing some of those classic DeBarge songs?
El DeBarge: What was going through my head? The awesome responsibility that God had placed in my hands to bring love again to the world through music. I felt so privileged and honored that God has given me a second chance. Here I am, 22 years later, given a second chance after all of my struggles and obstacles. I just felt so blessed that night to be able to do that.
You named your upcoming album Second Chance. What is it about that title that symbolizes your struggles with drug abuse and the other personal issues you’ve faced over the years?
Like everyone else in this world, I have had struggles. There’s disappointment and obstacles in everybody’s life. I feel like I was writing Second Chance not just for myself, but also for the people who have struggled. My own personal struggles with drugs and heartbreaks in relationships are no different than what’s going on out in the world where people are losing their homes in this great recession that we are having. It’s about people wanting second chances in life. People’s children have been taken away because of their own personal issues…they want a second chance again to be good parents. The people losing their jobs, they want a second chance at life…just to live better. That’s what my album title symbolizes.
Throughout your career, you've written and produced some of DeBarges’ biggest hits as well as your own solo material. But on Second Chance you're working with a diverse range of talents from Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Babyface to Ron Fair, the Avilia Brothers and Michael Angelo. Were you looking for something specifically from your collaborators?
It was important when I was choosing the producers and co-writers for this album that they all had a passion for real music. Babyface brings a lot of passion to this project. We worked together in the early ‘90s. I know what he brings to the table: real music and a level of professionalism. He reminds me of myself. Next to him and Ron Fair, I’m probably the greatest perfectionist [Laughs]. But Babyface just has a different swagger about him. I think that his style of writing blends very well with mines because he is a singer as well as a songwriter. All of the people that I worked with know how to cry; how to get emotional. They know how to let music just flow from them without holding it back. These are people who are ministers of music, not just songwriters. There’s one other name you forgot…Theron Feemster. We call him Nephew [Laughs].
One of the more surprising aspects of your career is your willingness to work with hip-hop artists. 50 Cent is set to appear on Second Chance and over the years you have collaborated with the likes of DJ Quik and RZA.
It’s funny that you should mention RZA. I had a lot of fun working with him. RZA is one of the most unique individuals and rap artists that I have worked with. He’s a lot of fun in the studio—let’s just put it that way [Laughs]. Then there’s DJ Quik who is so talented in my book. I think he’s just a genius and is very underrated in the industry. I’ve had the opportunity to meet Tupac. We didn’t spend a lot of time together, but I was in the studio with him on a few occasions. I’ve also had the honor of having the Notorious B.I.G [sample] one of my songs “Stay With Me” for “One More Chance.” I feel like rap artists have [utilized my music] because they feel me. They feel my music and they want to make my music a part of what they are trying to express. I am honored.
In a past interview you talked about jail sobering you up…
It wasn’t jail; it was prison. A lot of people go to jail, but prison is a whole other level, brother [Laughs]. It wasn’t important enough just for me to sober up. It was more important for me to stay sober—body, mind and soul. And that’s something that had to be dealt with in the depths of who I am, not just as El DeBarge, but as a spiritual being. God sent out a rescue crew; in fact, me going to prison was a rescue mission. I was taken away from everything so that I could get my willpower back. I needed to get this willpower back because I didn’t want to be on drugs. That’s clearly not who I am. I wasn’t raised like that. And that wasn’t my environment or my community that I had around me.
What sparked your drug usage?
It was just something that happened. It was an outside situation; an invasion in my life…a drug invasion. I had to be rescued from that so that I could experience this second chance that God has given me.
Let's take you back to your debut album with DeBarge (1981’s The Debarges). What do you remember about that time period?
When I think about that first DeBarge album, I remember being so green…just pristine. Nothing mattered to me but writing songs. I remember staying locked up in a room with my piano and just singing and writing songs all day long. I remember being a perfectionist about it…wanting to change this and fix that. And then from that room, I went straight to the studio. And then I remember just wanting to let people hear my songs. I lived, ate, slept and dreamed music.
That sounds intense.
I loved music! My mom would always tell me, “El, you have to get back to your first love.” All through my drug abuse she would say, “Just get back to your first love…music. Remember how you loved music from seven years old?”
You talk a lot about having a spiritual connection. The DeBarge family also has strong roots in gospel music. Are we ever going to see you record a gospel album?
There’s a little bit of gospel in everything I do. But I don’t know if I will ever do a gospel album. There’s a big universe out here and I don’t want to just sing to the church. I want to sing to the world and bring them a message of love. I love going to church and singing gospel songs, but right now there’s a message that the world needs. And I don’t know if I can reach everyone from a gospel plateau. God is so much bigger than gospel. He’s music and music is a universal language that’s known to all mankind. That’s who God is.
Listening to some of the tracks on Second Chance, there are hallmarks of the classic DeBarge sound that made such songs as “I Like It,” “All This Love,” “Love Me In A Special Way,” and “Who’s Holding Donna Now” such indelible records. Does that just come out naturally?
I can’t do anything but be who I am. The classic DeBarge sound will always be in my songwriting and production. Right now I’m having a hard time choosing the first single, which is good [Laughs]. There are so many new great songs. I’m headed back on tour soon as the album drops. I will be out there singing. I’m just excited.