S

leepy Brown’s got roots. The son of lead singer and saxophonist Jimmy Brown of ‘70s Funk band, Brick, the producer/singer has managed to pave his own way in music.

As one-third of production team, Organized Noize, Sleepy and partners Rico Wade and Ray Murray formed a talented ATL collective known as The Dungeon Family. The Grammy-Award-winning production team achieved commercial success with TLC’s “Waterfalls.” Their introduction of OutKast and Cee-Lo alone has changed the face of Hip-Hop, pushing the music envelope while simultaneously contributing to the culture’s worldwide recognition and acceptance.

Like Dr. Dre entering The Chronic or Q-Tip on Amplified, Sleepy Brown brings a weighty resume to the table as he crafts his own debut, Mr. Brown. The producer’s vocals channel as many eras as his kicks and snares, and in conversation, Sleepy Brown can tackle any topic. As all get ready for the October release, gain some definition on “start-up” music from a man who makes it.

AllHipHop.com Alternatives: Did the fact that your father was a musician and vocalist have any affect on why you chose music as your career?

Sleepy Brown: Oh yeah – one hundred percent. I grew up backstage, so watching him, you know that’s my hero, I seen him rock it, so I wanted to do the same thing.

AHHA: And was your father very supportive of your decision to go into the business?

Sleepy: Well, not at first, but he’s very proud now.

AHHA: How did you hook up with Rico and Ray?

Sleepy: We just knew about each other back in Atlanta, around ’89, ’90. They actually saw how serious I was about doing music. I was walking around with a little four-track machine, and a little bit of keyboard, do these little beats, and for some reason they liked me. They took me serious and they was like, “Well, ya know we looking to do something with this.” So we just kind of all got together, and started going to the studio and working.

AHHA: You were born and raised in Atlanta?

Sleepy: Well I was born in Savannah but I was raised in Atlanta.

AHHA: How did you come across Andre and Big Boi?

Sleepy: Actually my manager, Ramone, and Rico used to work at this place called Movie Town and [there was] a beauty shop called LaMonte’s right in the middle of East Point. This girl that used to work over there, she actually knew OutKast – she went to school with them – and brought them up to our place one day and they freestyled for us, and we fell in love with them.

AHHA: OutKast was never your average Hip-Hop group, and that’s pretty obvious to everyone today. But back then, when you were in the studio recording Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, did you have any idea the scope of what Organized Noize was creating – not just with OutKast, but also for the music scene in Atlanta?

Sleepy: We knew what we wanted to do, but we didn’t know how it was going to end up being. We just wanted to represent Atlanta and show a different side of Atlanta. You had Jermaine Dupri and you had Dallas [Austin]; I’ve always respected them and always knew they represented Atlanta, but the groups they were doing were more New York. So for us, OutKast was like,…we wanted to call out spots of Atlanta; we wanted to show people Atlanta was hot like any other city.

AHHA: There’s a lot of rumors going on about the breakup of OutKast that’s been circulating for years. Truth? Or just talk.

Sleepy: Well…I can’t really answer that. All I can say is that right now Dre is really into his acting thing right now. So I don’t know what the outcome of that is gonna be. I’m hoping they won’t break up. Even if they did, it’s still all good. If it’s something Dre don’t wanna do anymore, then you can’t force it. So it’s cool.

AHHA: Sometimes you just grow out of it, I guess.

Sleepy: Yeah, sometimes you grow out of it. You branch off to other things. I don’t blame him.

AHHA: Now as a producer, you’ve had the opportunity to work with some music legends like Earth, Wind & Fire. What was that experience like?

Sleepy: Well, with Earth, Wind & Fire, that was really like amazing because they officially made me a member of Earth, Wind & Fire, so I got my bell-bottom pants, my tight shirt, I’ve been practicing my steps, so you know, it’s a great thing. That was something else because I got a chance to perform with them on the Grammy’s.

AHHA: Now was that the first time that you met?

Sleepy: The studio. We were working on some stuff and then end up doing the Grammy’s. That was something – that was wild.

AHHA: Have you always had aspirations of being in front of the mic as opposed to being behind the console?

Sleepy: No, not at first. I was good at the producing and writing. I always looked at my singing career as a hobby, but I’m really taking it more serious now, trying to really show people that it’s something that I truly can do.

AHHA: What would you say is more challenging to you: being a producer, or being an artist?

Sleepy: Being an artist.

AHHA: Why?

Sleepy: Because so many things are so demanding of you – you have to do things. As a producer, you don’t really have to do too many interviews, every once in a while. You don’t have to do this or do that but as an artist, you have to. You gotta be seen, you gotta go out there and shake hands and kiss babies, and you really gotta talk to people. So I think as an artist, it’s really more of a challenge. But this is cool. I love doing this.

AHHA: Organized Noize has such a signature sound – that ‘70s feel, that permed and pimped out, real funky feel – which makes sense with your musical lineage. Who were some of the musical influences that helped shape you as a musician and contributed to this particular sound.

Sleepy: Earth, Wind & Fire, my father and them – Brick, Marvin Gaye, Barry White, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Johnny Guitar Watson, wow, some of everybody.

AHHA: In your opinion, who would you say is the most talented producer in the Dungeon Family.

Sleepy: Wow. That’s a hard one. [pauses]. I can’t really say because everybody is so dope. Cee-Lo. Dre – Dre is incredible. Big Boi.

AHHA: What about outside the collective?

Sleepy: Right now, Pharrell. I’m gonna say Pharrell.

AHHA: Do you play any musical instruments?

Sleepy: I play a little keyboard. Drums. A little tiny bass [too].

AHHA: When it comes to making music, what is the creative process for you? How do you go about making it happen?

Sleepy: Well we’ll get some trees and some Hennessey, and we just vibe.

AHHA: [Laughs]. Sounds very easy.

Sleepy: That’s the formula. Kids, don’t do that. Grown folks, do what you want.

AHHA: Tell us about your new album? What can people expect with this project?

Sleepy: It’s really like a celebration of being grown and a celebration of live instrumentation. It’s a celebration to women – how much we love women. It’s the kind of album you can throw on when you’re at a cookout, cleaning up the house, or your girl’s getting ready for a party, or a dude’s getting ready for a party – it’s that start-up record.

AHHA: You have a song on your new album, “Til (Your Legs Start Shaking).” Care to elaborate on that?

Sleepy: Yeeeeeeeah! That’s what I do. I make the ladies legs start – shaking. [laughs]. Yeah! That’s all I wanna say on that one.

AHHA: You’ve been through a few label situations, and even had an album shelved because of a label that folded. Now you’re down with Big Boi [Purple Ribbon Records], and you and Big Boi have history. Do you feel more confident about the future of your project? What are the advantages, or even disadvantages, of keeping it in the family?

Sleepy: It’s really a great thing because I really do feel more confident about this album because I know he has my back. I don’t really have to worry about if anything is gonna go wrong. Even if it does, I know Big Boi won’t turn his back on me. So I really do feel confident, I feel like it’s a great thing that’s going down. Plus with the team that I’m with – it’s ridiculous.

AHHA: You’ve achieved so much in this business so the bar is pretty high for you. Have you set any more goals for yourself? Is there anything else you would like to achieve?

Sleepy: As a solo artist, I would like to sell a lot of records, then eventually get into films; I have an idea for a kids show…I got a lot of ideas going on, so there’s a lot of things you’re gonna see from Sleepy Brown.

AHHA: One day the music will stop. What kind of mark would you like to leave on this industry?

Sleepy: I just want everybody to say that’s one bad ass soul brotha. That dude there was wildin’. His music was real. It was love. It was everything. I feel like how Marvin Gaye left his legacy, or Barry White. When you think of Barry White, what you think of – that voice. And love [imitating Barry’s voice]. [laughs] That was dope.

F

ew people have that quality of being able to inspire; the ability to make others dream. These people help us hold on to our dreams while fulfilling theirs at each and every moment walking down that yellow brick road while bringing us along. Janelle Monae, a belle from Dorothy’s hometown, Kansas, intends on inviting you to meet the Wiz and then taking you beyond to a futuristic world that has cyborgs falling in love with humans and other destinations that are light years ahead of the present. With twinkle in her eyes and twang in her voice the melodic, eclectic Janelle Monae invites you to into her world.

Janelle Monae was born in the inner city of Kansas City where she had to cope with the harsh reality of being surrounded by poverty, street violence and the neighborhood junkies and pushers. The only outlet she had from the impoverished streets of Kansas was her acting career; something that she’d been cultivating since a very young age. Although she was a thespian, she still had to find a way to break away from the dangerous streets of Kansas City, Kansas.

AllHipHop.com Alternatives: How did you escape the streets of Kansas City?

Janelle Monae: I went to the American Musical Academy in New York City. And I studied musical theatre. I wanted to be on Broadway. That was my dream. Of course, I started going to auditions, but then I felt discouraged because I didn’t see any roles for me…no one was making any roles that I felt like I could connect with outside of The Wiz and Lion King. Those roles are cool, don’t get me wrong, but it was more like “what can I do that’s groundbreaking?” So being the type of girl that I am, I left and I moved to Atlanta, Georgia and thought to my self “hmmm…I want to do music.”

AHHA: So you made the move from thespian to songstress in Atlanta?

Janelle Monae: Yea, I wanted to push music on this whole crazy thing. For theatre, I wasn’t doing any acting or plays or anything like that, so I left and I started writing music. I pretty much wanted to develop my own characters. I wanted to create my own story and I wanted to show who I was, the people around me, and what I had seen. And I didn’t want to constrict it to any of the roles on Broadway. So I started writing and recording. I actually stayed in a boarding house right off of Parsons Street, which is literally in the Atlanta University Center] of course you know, Spelman [College], Clark [Atlanta University] and Morehouse [College]. I stayed in the boarding house with six girls, and I continued writing and recording. And I would go outside and sing my songs on the street, and I wanted to know what the intelligent college students thought about my music so I did a lot of experimenting to get feedback from them. I knew music helped me out. It motivated me. It helped me become a better person and I wanted to share that with everybody, so I did that. I literally toured Spelman, Morehouse and Clark. I went to all the dorm rooms to sing and I performed free concerts to see what they thought about my music. I gave myself an album release party and I only had enough money to press like 200 CDs and to my surprise, they sold out that night.

AHHA: What was your next move?

Janelle Monae: Shortly after, I went to a Kim Porter event, who is Puffy’s babymother…she had an open mic night that she put on every Sunday. So I thought it would be cool if I went and performed, so I did. And I went onstage to go sing and after that I got a standing ovation to my surprise. After I got offstage, Big Boi was sitting in the front row and I didn’t even know it. He grabbed my arm and was like “I want to sign you,” and I was like “okay.” And Big Boi talks really fast. So he said, “Hey dawg [incomprehensible mutterings getting low and trailing off towards the end] (Laughs). I ended up getting signed then and there.

AHHA: Describe your style as a musician?

Janelle Monae: You know what, that’s such a hard question for me. I’ve been influenced by so many different things. I guess there are two different categories; R&B/Hip-Hop songstress and the futuristic Rock star. I would say that I’m more so in the futuristic Rock star category.

AHHA: You know I have to ask, why.

Janelle Monae: I’m trying to decide where music is going and direct it in a different direction and I can’t really focus on the past. All I can do is focus on where I am in the future. So that’s where the futuristic comes from because I’m focusing on tomorrow, and what I’ll be doing and where my music will take people from here on out. The Rock star comes from just me being free with writing music, performing, and singing. Whatever it is, I’m just free and whenever I perform I give it my all and let loose. I’m not trying to be too cool. I’m just really trying to rock whatever it is I do and shoot off like a star into the sky. So I just combined that into futuristic Rock star or whatever, because I am the future. I never try to be too cute to perform hard and sweat. I just want to give all the energy back to the audience. I want the audience and listeners to have it and also let them know that I’m not trying to be anything other than a free young lady.

AHHA: Can you tell us about your upcoming album, Metropolis, and the motivation for the title?

Janelle Monae: Metropolis is a silent film. I was actually watching the original 1927 version by Fritz Lang and the characters reminded me so much of my environment, growing up back in Kansas. There are people in the underworld who are like slaves. They work all day and they don’t know what their purpose in life is. And they’re trying so hard to escape these undergrounds. The people that live in Metropolis, they have this carefree life and money is not an issue for them. They have the people underground working for them. Everything is peaches and cream for them. And there’s this constant struggle between the underground workers and the people of Metropolis. It shows how the people of the underworld are trying to rise to the top and it reminds me so much of the world we live in.

AHHA: Who did you work with on the project?

Monae: Right now I’m working with Wondaland Productions. Nate “Rocket” Wonder, who is a gifted artist and incredible person, is the executive producer. We worked together on all the music. I also worked with Chuck Lightning of my production company, Wondaland Productions, and we wrote together. They basically pushed me to be the best artist I could be. They taught me how to play different instruments and use my imagination when I write, and taught me how to use different production programs so I was basically producing some of the stuff myself. It helped me become a better me artist and I love them for that. That’s really it.

AHHA: When is it dropping?

Janelle Monae: I’m hoping towards a release date of after OutKast’s Idlewild Soundtrack, because I’ll be featured on that in August. A little bit after that, Metropolis will come out or that’s what we’re hoping for.

AHHA: Here’s something new for you…Sitcom, reality show or cartoons and why?

Janelle Monae: Cartoons…I like cartoons because you can be as creative as you want to with the characters. You can make them look a certain way. You can change them. You can have them flying into space. There’s just no limit to creating them. It makes the impossible possible. Whenever I’m watching cartoons, my imagination runs wild and I realize there’s no limit to what I can do. I love being able to draw and create and use my creativity. I just love cartoons, they make me happy…I start jumping around and I love cereal!

AHHA: Don’t we all. I’ve always been a big fan, what’s your favorite?

Janelle Monae: I eat Raisin Bran a lot. But I like Fruit Loops. I used to eat Trix a lot, but right now I’m on Raisin Bran. I still eat Fruit Loops, because they have these little rings on them now, but they’re good.

AHHA: You know I had to laugh at that one. Random question. What’s your favorite color?

Janelle Monae: What is my favorite color? Purple, it’s so funny because when I was little my favorite color was purple, and now I’m on Purple Ribbon. It’s just funny to me. Purple to me, I just don’t know. When I was younger I would create my own little world and things to me would just be purple. Purple to me represents fairy tales and represents creativity. It’s represents something in my self and I just look to it. Whenever I’m singing, I think about purple, whenever I’m coming up with a song, I think about it. Of course, it looks nice on me, when I wear it around.