Kandi Burress: Kandi Koated Part 2

This is Part 2 of our candied interview with Kandi Buress. In this interview, Kandi talks about dating, her mastery of songwriting and the art of the comeback. Click here for the first installment. AllHipHop.com: Do you date industry guys? Kandi: (pause then bursts out laughing) Lets see well normally I don’t but I might […]

This is Part 2 of our candied interview with Kandi Buress.

In this interview, Kandi talks about dating, her mastery of songwriting and the

art of the comeback.

Click here for the first installment.

AllHipHop.com: Do

you date industry guys?

Kandi: (pause then bursts

out laughing) Lets see well normally I don’t but I might be kinda communicating

with somebody right now but we’re just friends for right now so I don’t know.

AllHipHop.com: Aww see you gotta give us the scoop now.

Kandi: I can’t give

you the scoop, because its not even scoop to give yet. See and that’s another

thing you talk about the whole public thing at this point in my life right now

I cant even go out with somebody who’s high profile because as soon as we go

somewhere together everybody makes it seem like we’re together. When in real

life you cant even hang out with someone and just go out to see if you even

like them before your pegged as an item and that’s kinda not fair. That’s why when

you asked that question I was kinda like have I met anyone in the industry who

has sparked an interest yes but I’m scared to go out because even if we just

have dinner people put us together and I don’t even know if we’re compatible.

AllHipHop.com: Ok

I’ll get out your business, lets get back to your music. So this project is

indie?

Kandi: I’m doing it

through Asylum Warner Bros. We’re just trying to figure out what single we’re

officially gonna go with. I did “I Fly Above” because it was on the show so i

kinda worked that song on my own before i got with them but I’m still gonna do

like a viral video to go with that but they want to do a new song that no one

has heard yet so we’re still figuring that out. They want my album slated for

summer but i want it out NOW, but i understand the whole process. So for right

now I’m just jumping on other projects and keeping my buzz going until its time

for my album to drop.

AllHipHop.com: Yeah,

it seems like you took some time away but you’ve always been writing behind the

scenes and I know the money is better as a writer

Kandi: Yea it is,

and that’s why I’m very happy with everything I’ve been doing behind the scenes

but you definitely always miss it. I always tell people its a lil bit harder to

have had success and then go back to just chilling and being back behind the

scenes than it is to have never had success. People are like “Oh if I could

just do it one time” no because then when you get it once you want it again and

again.

AllHipHop.com: Is it

more intimidating coming out now vs the first go round when you were all green?

Kandi: No, I think

its just a lot of things have changed since then. Like say for instance now you

can do an indie album and you can sell 100-200,000 copies and that’s deemed a success

because you’ve made hella money. Now see I had sold a couple hundred thousand

with my solo album but it was considered a bust because I didn’t go gold or

platinum. But if I did that now I’d be real happy, but things have definitely

changed.

I also know a lot more now like I don’t think its totally

the labels’ responsibility to promote the album. Now you gotta do more in

promoting yourself. And investing in yourself so I’ve grown a lot vocally I

don’t even sound the same my voice has developed a lot more now and I’m on

other peoples songs more now. And I think all those things help as well so I

think I’m a little smarter when it comes to the music same aspect but at the

same time it is scary because if it doesn’t do well you still gonna be disappointed.

AllHipHop.com: When

it comes to reinventing yourself as an artist who has been around as long as

you have, how do you keep it pushing and remain relevant?

Kandi: Well I think

its the transition that’s important when your an artist. Like a lot of people

that I started with they’re not even in the business anymore and they don’t

even know how to get back in the business. So my career has been about

transition, you gotta know how to transition, like going from being an artist

to a songwriter or going into the production side or management or whatever

your good at, you gotta be good at multiple things. If you’re just dependent on

being an artist, you could be outta here in no time. You just gotta know how to

stay on your grind and I think a lot of women sometimes we suffer because

sometimes their grind isn’t as strong as a lot of fellas that’s in it so

there’s even less females that I started out with that are still in the game.

AllHipHop.com: Yeah

well that probably comes from the fact that women get so distracted with things

like kids and looking for love and other things that become distractions. Was

love a big distraction for you?

Kandi: Relationships

are definitely a distraction even for me but i think my relationships

definitely suffer for my career because I’ve always put that on the back burner

whereas a lot of women don’t always. For a lot of women it’s about the

relationship. I’ve seen so many relationships fall apart because the guy he’s

not gonna tell you “I’m not going into work all the time so he can go lay up. A

woman though, she’ll fall in love and be like “girl i cant make it today I just

wanna lay up all day with my boo’ and a man will be like ‘baby lay right there I

gotta go get this bread real quick so he’ll go do what he gotta do and come

back and be in love with you later. Ya know? So I just try to adopt that

mentality because I’m a mother and a daughter and the bottom line is I’m the

one who has to take care of things around here, I’m the go to person so I got

other folks depending on me so i cant let their stuff fall apart trying to

chase a relationship.

AllHipHop.com: How

have the past 10 years defined you as a woman?

Kandi: I defiantly

think I’m stronger now. I’m a better businesswoman. Way more mature, of course

there’s always room to grow and get better. But I’m a real businesswoman now

with my store here in Atlanta (www.tagsatl.com) and just involved in so many

more things that I don’t want to let just being an artist define who I am. I’m

just trying to keep growing and being a better mother and a better person. I

think even the way I deal with fame – I think I just appreciate things more.

Having gone from the fame of Xscape then the highs and lows of my career have

just really taught me how to appreciate things more and to really fly above.