Interview By. Jamilah Lemieux
Albert J. Brown IV is on a mission to prove to the world that while he may share a name and a career with his famous father, he has the talent to blaze his own trails in the music industry. Twenty-one year old Lil B. Sure! (please say the !) was born right as dad Al B. Sure!'s sexy falsetto catapulted him to global superstar status. The younger B. Sure! was born and raised in "Money Earnin' " Mount Vernon NY (hometown to the legendary Pete Rock, Heavy D and the elder B. Sure!) where he first displayed his musical gifts as a small child. As a young adult, he is now ready to share his talents with the world.
MTV's "Rock The Cradle" gave Lil' B Sure! an opportunity to introduce himself to a national audience and while he didn't win the competition, he is looking towards the future and reaching for bigger, better things. He is currently in the studio working on his debut album and he will join his proud papa, along with Landon and Bobby Brown for a father/son tour in the near future. A grounded young man with raw talent and charm to spare (he sang for me over the phone and I melted a little bit), Lil' B. will be keeping the Sure! legacy going for years to come.
Read the full interview with more photos and video below:
Lil’ B. Sure! is just an artist who likes to have fun, who likes to please the crowd. I love to make people happy and hear them screaming. But at the same time, when people go home and say “He’s not just an artist, he’s a good person. He’s not Hollywood…” You know, to be able to talk to people after the show. For people to see that I am smiling all the time just like my dad. You know, I’m still a regular person, a regular kid who likes to play basketball and go to the mall. It’s hard now, cause of all the girls, like when I go to the mall and stuff. (And I) like to have a social life. I like hanging out and going to the clubs….
Q: You’re 21, right? Did you just start clubbing and partying or were you doing it for a while?
I’m about to be 22, October 30th. Scorpio, baby! I didn’t always like to party. You know, I like to chill. The party scene is cool too, you know? But I rather be at home with my friends. I’m always trying to go to the studio and do a couple tracks. It brings me back to my childhood. Like, when I was a kid I’d be wondering “Why am in the studio?” It’s like five in the morning and I’m little and sleep in the studio. Now I understand why my dad had me there and why he worked as hard as he did. Now I’m in the studio myself and the sun is coming up and we putting down song at six, seven in the morning and listening to it on the way home. I get it now, I see what that’s all about.
Q: What’s this about you sleeping until 4 o’clock each day?
(Laughs) It was a joke that my dad had said (on “Rock The Cradle”), that I sleep till four. That’s not true. (But) if I am in the studio ‘till 6 or 7 (in the morning), then I think I have the right to sleep until noon! That’s what my dad does, he never gets a break. My dad was never home when I was younger. He was always working. And I wanted to have a regular conversation with him, spend time with him. But he was always working and when he came home, he had to sleep! And when he wakes up it was like “I gotta run”. Its crazy cause its hitting me now. I’m in the same shoes he was in and a lot of people, like my friends and girls are saying the same things: “We never hang out no more!” But it really is like this. I’m just a person who likes to get some sleep. Who doesn’t like to sleep? (Laughs)
Q: How old were you when you started recording?
Eighteen (when) I officially got in the studio and made a couple tracks. My dad called my uncles Pete Rock and Eric B, you know, Eddie F. and Heavy D, everybody out of Mount Vernon. I got a lot of people who are like my uncles, like K-Ci and Jojo. I’ve been recording since I was 18 and I think I have really grown a lot since then. I just spoke to my uncle Terrance Deadly, who’s done tracks for 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, etc. And he said I’ve really grown since coming out of New York. You know, I’m from New York. And he said “You really grew without (relying) on your dad’s help. This is a stepping stone.” The MTV show, even though it came out not too good, it really got people’s attention. I’m not gonna make excuses, I want people to hear my stuff and I want people to hear how I sing my way. So, when I get the opportunity I want to come out and really work with people.
I’m from Mount Vernon and the mayor actually called me last night like “Hold your head up. This is MTV, it’s not really an urban type of thing. But it was a good opportunity.” I got to meet a lot of people. I caught up with MC Hammer, I got to talk to him for a few hours. I met Dee Synder from Twisted Sister. Last night, he came up to me and he said (that) he was so mad that I didn’t get to perform my song I was supposed to do. It’s called “We Should Be” and it’s by Trey Songz. You know, I can really hit that song. And (Synder) was telling me “You guys have it harder than American Idol!” And it’s true, ‘cause the bar is set higher. With American Idol it’s like, okay, they’re regular people. Maybe they can sing, maybe not. But with us being celebrity kids, it’s different. It’s like “Oh, he don’t look exactly like his father. Oh, MC Hammer’s daughter, she don’t fit this particular mold. Landon (Brown), he’s not crazy like Bobby Brown was…..”
Q: Speaking of Landon Brown, how did you guys meet? Cause you knew him before the show.
Oh yeah, I been performing with Landon for about a year, way before the show. I was at a concert in 2006, my dad’s concert for the Hurricane Katrina victims. I was chilling in VIP and I see a big entourage coming, with a bunch of kids And it was Bobby Brown, who I met once before, back in the day. But I didn’t know him like that, you know? And….Landon walked up to me, and we had heard about one another like “Oh, that’s Al. B. Sure!’s son, he sings” and “You know Bobby Brown’s son Landon sings”. So he walked straight up to me and asked me if I wanted to battle! And I laughed and we started singing and from that point on, we were cool and he was like my brother. We been through the whole thing with the famous dads, and that’s a blessing to be like “Oh, you went through that too?” you know? We finish each others sentences and we both have hot tempers. I kinda learned to channel mine, ‘cause I’m trying to be a business man now, you know? (Laughs).We are best friends, definitely. When I got kicked off (the show), the first thing he said was “I got you. I’m a look out for you”…..We got each others backs, definitely.
Q: On "Rock The Cradle” you got to perform your dad’s classic song “Nite And Day”. What was that like for you?
A lot of people didn’t like it because they were used to hearing it in a different key. And I coulda sang it in falsetto, but then it would have been just like when may dad did it. I didn’t want to sing “Nite And Day”, I wanted to sing “Secret Garden”, you know I coulda killed that. (Sings) “ I wanna read your mind….” I wanted to sing a song that is gonna show my vocal ability. (“Nite And Day”) was not a vocal song. I was really mad that I didn’t get to sing “____”, because I really wanted to let people know what I can do vocally. But I will definitely have a few other things coming, so be ready!
Q: Aside from the Trey Songz joint, what is your favorite song to perform?
A song I have called “Scorpio Love” and all the girls love it…..It’s on my Myspace. I got a lot of emails like “Please perform it”. I got emails from around the world about that song, girls go crazy for that and a song called “Radio”. I took “Radio” off my page, ‘cause I had some issues with the producers. They saw me on TV and decided they wanted to charge more money for the song, you know how that goes. “Scorpio Love” is about me and another Scorpio. I wrote the song like (sings) “I want the Scorpio, I need the Scorpio love/ Forget the bed, let’s start straight on the floor…..I want to pull your hair…” The song is so sexy; it’s just a hot song. The girls love it. And then I get messages like “Why you can’t make a song about Geminis?” (laughs) I’m actually thinking about doing a mixtape with a song about all of the (astrological) signs, for the girls.
Q: Speaking of, how are the girls treating you?
(Laughs)It’s wild! My Myspace, I try not to check it anymore. It’s like 20 pages of messages and pages and pages of friend requests. I go to the mall and to Roscoes, and I hear all the girls whispering. And I’ll be with Landon and they like “Oh, that’s Al. B Sure!’s son and Bobby Brown’s son! They sing….”, and all of that. Once in a while they will say something like “Oh, you did a good job on the show last week”. Actually, I was just in Vegas and these older women came up to me. They were like, my dad’s age. Older even. And they came up to me like “Are you Al B. Sure!’s son? We want to take pictures with you!” And I was like “Naw, I’m not. But is he here? I want to meet him myself!” It was pretty funny.
The girls, they do treat me well. But music, that’s my girl. That’s my wife. (Laughs)
Q: So how would you describe your style? What is the Lil B. Sure! sound?
I’m just me, you know? I’m like the new version of me, just doing my thing. In some ways, it’s kinda like the Jodeci feel. It’s not quite hardcore gangsta, (but) I’m from the hood, you know? People see that I’m Al B. Sure!’s son, but I grew up with my mom in the hood part of Mount Vernon. And I’ve seen a lot of things. I got uncles who are in gangs. I don’t live that life, but I’ve seen it. So when I write music, I can go anywhere with it. You know, the love making and all that and then I can do a hook for a rap song. Like something for Dipset. That why I look up to Trey (Songz). I look up to Lloyd, cause they doing they thing.
Q: You’re living in California now doing music? Are you living with your dad?
I’m living in Cali now, like in the Valley area. LA, basically. I live with my dad, but I am kinda like a nomad. I’m never in the house, I’m always doing something. Gotta be out doing something, so sometimes I’m staying with my manager or I’m staying with Landon. I’m getting ready to get an apartment of my own, but I’m trying to stack my money up first!
Q: What are your goals for your career? What do you see yourself doing long-term? Do you want to produce for other people? Write?
I want to do it all. The one thing I wish my dad had done, I wish he had done more back in the day. He was just singing and producing. I wish he had done movies and acting and surrounded his self around a lot of things. He’s starting to do more things now like that now, you know, but I wish he had done more stuff earlier on. For myself, I want to do videos, movies, direct… I want to do EVERYTHING! I don’t wanna just sing, but I want to get a Grammy. That is one of my biggest goals as an artist; I want to a win a Grammy. I want to write for other people too.
Q: If you could write for any other artist, who would it be?
Probably J Holiday. That’s my boy! He’s really doing his thing, and I have a lot of respect for him. Not too long ago, I was in Arizona with him, H-Town, Babyface, Trey Songz, Tyrese. It was just wild.
Q: What words do you want to leave us with? Your fans, people who just heard of you, people who may have seen you on the show, what do you want to say to everyone?
This is just the beginning, this is JUST the beginning. Don’t mind MTV, don’t focus on that. I got a lot of homework to do. I am still learning the game. Right now, this is just me being me. So look out for Lil B Sure!. After this show, from this point on, everything I do is what I wanna do. This is gonna be all me. I don’t have any excuses. I just have me. So just look out!
PR inquiries can be directed to Neeta Wooten of Ideal PR for both Al B. Sure! And Lil B. Sure!
