She’s been a teenage pop star and an international dance icon, now Kelly Rowland is determined to create her own path and shed all labels.
Being a member of the most successful female group in music history, Destiny’s Child, Rowland experienced the success of Grammys and platinum plaques early in her career. Growing up in the music industry has been beneficial to Rowland as she made the transition as an artist coming into her own in womanhood. We recently had the chance to sit with Ms. Rowland to talk about her plans for the future, her relationship with Nelly and her new new music. Check it out here.
Parlé Magazine: You practically grew up in the music industry, have your experiences early on in your career helped you transition into becoming an artist in adulthood?
Kelly Rowland: It’s great, I can’t complain. Life is really a blessing to be able to do what you love everyday, to learn about yourself. For me it’s been about becoming a woman, and I’ve really enjoyed that experience. I think that’s what this album is pushing me to do, to grow as a woman.
Parlé: The dance record that you made with David Guetta “When Love Takes Over” was a success worldwide, did you intentionally try to take a club inspired direction with the single, “Motivation”?
Kelly: I went my direction, my direction is whatever I want to go. I don’t allow the industry or anybody to put me in a box. I did that for a minute and I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ What I did was go into the studio and make music that I love. Make music that when you hear it, it feels good. Whether it was urban inspired, dance inspired, HipHop inspired or it just feels good period.
Parlé: You’ve recently worked with Nelly again on his song “Gone” (from the album 5.0), which is the continuation of the earlier colab on “Dilemma”, how did you guys end up hooking up again?
Kelly: About a year and a half ago I was climbing into bed, and [Producer] Jim Jonsin called me and he was like ‘Hey come down to the studio, I need you do to this hook for Nelly.’ Nelly was in the background screaming on the phone and I’m like ‘what’s going over there?’ He’s like ‘Yo babygirl, I need you to come put this down for me,’ which is so funny because that’s the same way “Dilemma” happened. I told him I was tired, and he was like ”c’mon get up and just do this for your bro.’ My mom was in town so she actually came with me and we got to the studio at two o ‘clock in the morning to record.
Parlé: What is it about you two that makes Kelly and Nelly work so well together?
Kelly: It’s always fun, it’s never anything hard when Nelly and I work together, it’s easy. We go in, get it done, bounce ideas off each other. Even when the idea is done one of us will be like ‘let me try this’ or ‘let me try that’ so it’s always easy.
Parlé: After all these years is there any particular artist that inspires you musically?
Kelly: For me it’s all about Whitney Houston, I love her voice. It’s always been about her voice, the talent, and the music of course I love the fact that it’s always been a respect factor she had. It’s not about the hype, it’s all about the music which it should be.
Image by Randall Slavin