Hit R&B/Pop Artist Bobby Valentino Talks About His Album, Special Occasion

Bobby Valentino

The first R&B singer signed to rapper Ludacris’ DPT/Island Def Jam Records label, Bobby Valentino, who was born Robert Wilson in Jackson, Mississippi, came upon his romantic last name naturally. His parents expected him to be born on Valentine’s Day, 1982, but he arrived 13 days later. The moniker is a perfect fit for his hip yet retro brand of sensuous soul and the way he captured the hearts of fans worldwide with his 2005 gold-selling debut album Disturbing The Peace Presents Bobby Valentino.

The disc’s first single “Slow Down” reached #1 on the Billboard R&B/hip-hop chart and #8 on the pop chart; its follow-up “Tell Me” (featuring Lil’ Wayne) was also a R&B hit, which was followed by Valentino’s guest appearance on Ludacris’ smash pop and R&B hit “Pimpin’ All Over The World.” After promotional appearances on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live and Live With Regis & Kelly, he earned a headlining spot on one of the year’s hottest summer package tours, the 7-week “Scream Tour IV: The Heart Throbs,” with Bow Wow, Omarion and Marques Houston, presented by BET. Valentino, who also got his first taste of international success during a two-week tour of England (where “Slow Down” hit #4 on the U.K. singles chart), received an Outstanding New Artist Nomination at the 37th Annual Image Awards, plus two Soul Train Music Awards nominations.

While Special Occasion, Valentino’s highly anticipated follow-up album, isn’t due to drop until May 8, there’s been a lot of pre-release momentum between officially released singles from the record label, a few songs posted by Valentino himself on websites and nearly 20 unauthorized tracks that were leaked on the internet. The first advance single, the heartfelt ballad “Turn The Page,” released last October, was the #1 most added single at urban mainstream radio upon its release. More recently, the slightly edgier, Timbaland-produced single “Anonymous” was recently the #1 most added single during its impact week at urban radio.

Valentino, who narrowed the final tracking on Special Occasion down from a total of 60 recorded songs, kept his fans in the loop of his recording process by putting tracks he knew wouldn’t make the final album on his MySpace and mixtapes pages. “This was just a little something for them to ride to until the album is released,” he says. “The reason we kept pushing the date back was because these other tunes were leaked out there, and we had to switch things up so none of those songs would be on the official release.”

While Valentino’s debut was primarily produced by Tim & Bob (aka Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson), the singer is excited about expanding his palette this time to include collaborations with award-winning hitmakers Sean Garrett, Delite, Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal, Rodney Jerkins and Timbaland. He’s so excited by the “extra hot” vibe of the project that he’s making an unofficial 10-song guarantee for all those who buy it - if you don’t like at least 10 songs, you can return it for a full refund.

“With each producer I consider working with, I’m not just interested in big names that everyone’s after, but their overall track records and how their vibe fits into what I am trying to accomplish vocally and musically,” he says. “I’ll even find albums of theirs no one remembers to make sure I’ve heard all they can do. Timbaland is hot now, but I’ve studied him for a long time. And I’ve known Tim & Bob since I was 15 working with my teen group Mista years ago. Then while I’m studying them, I put together a wish list of guys I want to work with.”

Valentino, who had a hand in writing all but three songs on Special Occasion, adds, “Whoever I work with, at the end of the day, you’re gonna get a Bobby vibe because my own flavor is going to be on the song. A lot of times, artists aren’t in the whole project creatively, they just let the producer come up with tracks and then they sing. So it sounds like someone else did them. But I’m hands on with my music. I like to give them direction, let them know what I want to try. On my first album, I wanted to create a classic R&B styled project for an American audience. But now that I’ve been overseas, I’m really excited about making music for the world, for everyone. Performing in the U.K., where they appreciate R&B even more than rap, really opened my eyes to what’s out there.”

Reflecting back on his younger years, Valentino - who was raised in Atlanta, where he still lives - says, “I grew up listening to artists who were either old school or their modern equivalents, like Marvin Gaye, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Prince, Babyface and the Isley Brothers, and even though hip-hop was taking over, I always wanted to get back to real R&B.” Though at first he had a hard time convincing his skeptical parents that the music business was the place for him, the singer won them over at 16 when he hooked up with Organized Noize Productions and formed Mista, a Boyz II Men-styled group that made some waves with their single “Blackberry Molasses.” Mista released a self-titled debut in 1996 and recorded a second album with Timbaland, but management problems led to a group split and Valentino decided to focus on his education.

While working on his degree in Mass Communications at Clark Atlanta University (which he received in 2003), he tried to jump-start his career by auditioning for the first season of American Idol. The judges ultimately rejected him, which led him to a unique philosophy that he uses to advise talented upstart singers to his day: “Never give up on yourself because the day you give up could be the day you made it. There will always be people who hate on you, but you should let your haters be your motivators.” Valentino got back to work and sometime later, armed with three full albums of demos, hooked up with William “Poon Daddy” Engram, a longtime friend of Ludacris. Engram sent them on to Ludacris and Chaka Zulu, President of Disturbing Tha Peace Records. Impressed with his incredible vocal ability and strong work ethic, the two quickly signed Valentino to the label.

“The time between Mista splitting up and going to college was a tough stretch,” he says. “One day you’re on TV living the life, and the next day you are back to reality. But I didn’t give up. My dream was to do music and that’s what I did. Every day it was the same routine, school in the morning, baseball practice in the evening and the studio at night. Now that I look back, I wouldn’t trade those days for anything. From that I learned to never give up, believe in yourself and stay humble. I’m able to meet so many different people and bring joy to people’s lives by doing what I love to do most, singing.”