Grammy-nominated producer/songwriter James Worthy has teamed up Goodie Mob’s Big Gipp of for a new 5-song project, Gipp N Worthy, that gives a vivid depiction of love, relationships, and of course, life.
Tell us a little more about what inspired “Gipp N Worthy.”
Gipp N Worthy is a five-star EP that comes out February 25th, basically it is a fun collaborative effort from myself and Big Gipp of Goodie Mob. We are talking about life, love and relationships and the being that we have been through personally regarding those three topics. We went to the studio and created what we had felt, without any expectations or obligations from anyone.
You are capable of being so diverse and multi-talented when it comes to music. You are a world renowned and award-winning musician. How do you continue to have an admirable dedication to the music you produce?
That is a good question, because I have always been an advocate of having no boundaries. Since I am always creating, I revealed myself as a creator. When you are always creative, you never stop. From the beginning, I knew that I never would want to stop right there as a songwriter, music production, and a recording artist. Whether I am getting into other ventures and business avenues, I always thought I can be creative in, and I would never want to stop the journey.
What was your creative process like making “Gipp N Worthy”? It gives a vivid depiction of love, relationships, and life. How does that translate into the EP?
Gipp and I have been through a lot of stuff, personally in life and dealing with relationships. It was something that we felt of course people in life have done it and they are doing it with their music but how we approached it with this project, one nobody expected us to come together and do a project and then number two was it was more so a thing of us wanting to bring different concepts into the songs but musically do something different. A lot of people know him for being more of an anti-type of artist coming from Goodie Mob and the rapper of the group and there is me who is known for being an R&B style artist. When people found out that we were doing this project, they were intrigued of what we would sound like even though we have worked together before in the past I feel like this project gave us more leverage to experiment and show the growth of us as artists.
What does it mean to make a good song as a record producer in all aspects of music?
The feeling if you do not really have a feeling towards the song, then to me it is not a good song. Emotions are the most important thing when you are listening to a song that is a good or bad song, of course good being at the top. The main thing with this project is getting people to feel good about the EP, whether you are listening from the top or bottom. Each song has a different feeling or element towards the matter of the subject. When you are listening to it there is a different sound or tempo. I think when people listen to music there should be something invoking in you to either come back to it or go listen to something else by the artist.
You have become a prominent musician and have worked with legends like Whitney Houston, Future, T-Pain, Dr. Dre. How has working with these superstars contributed to the lessons you have learned?
It is a blessing to have worked with those people and many more at a youthful age. A lot of people do not even realize that I am only thirty years old. It is a blessing to be able to be a part of the industry. I have learned many things, good or bad. I have always been an advocate for trial and error. If you do not go through it, then you really do not know what you are going to need to do to get through a situation. I have had my fair shares on difficulties of learning the business and how things have transitioned from the past to now. If I did not go through these things, I am not sure what I would be doing now, but the lessons have helped me work with these types of people. Besides being talented, you must know how to maneuver in this business to know how to get to them.
As an entrepreneur and record producer/songwriter, how do you balance everything at once?
It is tough because I have myself devoting my entire life to my work. I have one outside of work, but it is hard because once you are indulged in your work, the thing that comes to mind is what is next? It is a massive thing for me because once I start something and accomplish it, I am on to the next thing instead of festering what I had just accomplished. For the past couple of years, I have been learning to appreciate the things that I have done and to celebrate things instead of worrying about what is to come next. You sometimes need that break to sit back and figure out what is next, but also to reevaluate what is important in life. Being happy and checking in on your health and mental state, when you do that, the only outcome is positivity in your life.
You are quite the businessperson as well. 3 Kingdoms is partnered with English Premier League. What is the strategy behind it all?
I must give a big shout-out to my good friend/ business partner Steve Sharp, he is the guy who brought this idea to me. He is from London; he has helped me broaden my connections with everyone from there. The concept was to bring music to sports, but in a unique way, especially soccer. We formed the 3 Kingdom group which has been growing rapidly in the past year in a half and this year we are going to be rolling out new ventures, which is exciting.
Who has played a meaningful role in your journey thus far?
I have been around so many people in my life, and those people have given me great advice and inspiration. I have to say Ecstasy from Whodini was a really pivotable person in my life, especially in my career. I looked up to him and was a huge fan of Whodini. He was one of the mentors in my life who helped me grow as an artist. He gave me knowledge and wisdom about the music industry and how to maneuver throughout the business.
What advice would you offer to the youth on the importance of building generational wealth and keeping balance in their goals?
You must understand what you want to do in life first, after you figure that out, how will you execute it. For example, if you want to be in the music industry, you need to understand the music industry not only the creative aspect but the business aspect as well and this is not something you start and then quit. It is not a game, nothing in life is easy or free. We all must work at things at our own pace to reach our goals. Once you have your goal in your mind, it is attainable when you put in the work towards it.
Deanahi
