AHH Alternatives: 3 Questions with… Glenn Lewis

Eleven years ago neo soul singer Glenn Lewis released his commonly known hit “Don’t You Forget It” on his debut album World Outside My Window. Lewis, the child of Trinidadian and Jamaican parents hailing from Toronto, Canada, acknowledges the difficulties for recognition of artists from his city. However, within the last decade, however, rapper Drake has reestablished T. Dot’s musical notoriety.

On his new album, Moment of Truth, Lewis returns to his musical roots with an album that is very Caribbean flavored. Lewis’s latest album features productions from Grammy Award winning pair Dre & Vidal, DJ Camper, Carvin Haggins and Ivan Barias, and upcoming producers Matrax. He also has a duet with Roc Nation vocalist, and “hometown heroine” Melanie Fiona. After a hiatus from the spotlight of the music industry Glenn recognized, with his latest work, that his primary audience were women, and credits his focus for the album to having fun with his listeners, and making hits the ladies can vibe to.

AllHipHop.com: Can you talk a little about the music scene in Toronto?

Glenn Lewis: Toronto is really aesthetically a cross between Chicago, aspiring to be bustling like New York, and culturally like London. There has always been great talent here; it takes a while for the music to break out from just the Toronto scene; Artists like myself, Deborah Cox, and Tamia, brought attention to Toronto. Toronto has a cool night life, just like New York. There is the Caribana Festival, where everyone comes out to in summer, and it brought another level of attention. There are a lot of interesting aspects, from the people to the culture.

AllHipHop.com: After you released World Outside My Window in 2002, you went on a hiatus for several years, what made you want to come back and record your new album?

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Glenn Lewis: I’d always been working on music the entire time. I’ve been in different situations and different deals. I had completed a number of projects in that time but for one reason or another — timing wise or just different things had caused those projects to not come out. I guess the stars aligned so to speak with the Ruff House/Capitol situation and I did the deal in 2011.

AllHipHop.com: Tell us about your new album Moment of Truth and how it’s different from your previous work?

Glenn Lewis: Basically, the mindset going in was that I didn’t have to show growth or evolution as an artist. I believe that just with the time that has passed; I just felt that it was something that would come across regardless in the content and the approach on the record. I felt like my first album was more introspective, therapeutic and a collection of experiences that led up to that moment. That album was like 25 years in the making. My current effort is not a complete departure from the introspective scope. In Moment of Truth I seek to bridge the era of the music that I come out of, to the R&B music of today.

Moment of Truth is available now on iTunes. Follow Glenn Lewis on Twitter @beingglennlewis