SUAVE SMOOTH
WEST PALM BEACH, FL
W
est Palm Beach is home to several talented artists, including Suave Smooth. One half rap star, one half producer, Suave is as gifted as they come. With the unfolding of the new year and his new record deal with Fontana/ Universal, he’s geared up for the release of his second album. What are you working on for 2007? I have a new album dropping this year; we don’t have an exact release date yet. I produced the whole album. It’s called “Gov’t Work.” I’ve got Tampa Tony, 8Ball & MJG, T-Pain, and Triple J featured on the album. What singles are you pushing? The song I have with 8Ball & MJG is the first single from the album. We’ll be really pushing it the first quarter of this year. How did you link up with them? I had been wanting to do a song with them and they just so happened to be in Orlando. My A&R is cousins with their manager. What shows have you done? The last people I opened up for were the Ying Yang Twins, David Banner and Smilez & Southstar in Fort Myers. I’ve really been headlining shows lately. What’s been your biggest achievement? Actually, signing this deal with Trevor Price from the Baltimore Ravens. It got me a deal through Fontana/Universal. I had an offer to do a group deal through Pretty Ricky’s label Blue Stars. Spectacular called me directly because we known each other for a while. It didn’t go through because I already have a contract. How did you learn to produce your own beats? I was involved with music my whole life. At the age of nine, I had a piano in my house. My sister was supposed to be learning how to play it but she ain’t never really take it serious. I taught myself how to play by ear and eventually, when I turned fourteen, I got a keyboard and took it from there. I was in the band too in high school; I played the tuba. I was the section leader. Who were some of your musical influences? It wasn’t any rappers. It’s kinda crazy ‘cause I grew up listening to a lot of Barry White. As far as my production, it kinda came from Barry White, even though I don’t sound nothing like him. Are they supportive?
Very supportive. Very surprised, too, ‘cause they ain’t never really think it would have been as big as it is. They remember me being in the band and it was the same thing then. In Palm Beach County, I’m like the main head honcho around here. The whole county is behind me. How did your buzz get so big? Actually by interacting with the people. It was more about me as a person than my music. At my shows, I always stuck around and signed autographs for everybody and interacted with them. Basically, by doing that so much, everybody feels like they know me. Are you working with any DJs on any mixtapes? I was getting ready to start on a mixtape but the DVD thing is starting to become real big down here. You used to get a big buzz off the mixtapes, but the DVDs are starting to be the biggest things. But I got a lot of love for the DJs, especially down here. What’s up with the Dem Damn Dogs DVD? They named the DVD after one of my songs called “Gangstas and Thugs.” They caught heat from the Feds, the city, the mayor, and they’re still catching heat from the news. It was actually on the news last night and the DVD was released last year. Anytime a fight happens or a kid gets beat up, they’re throwing the DVD up. It was good and the bad. The lieutenant of our police department had something to do with the DVD, too. They couldn’t put too much heat on it or it would make everybody look bad. What do you mean? How was he involved? It’s rumors but they say he funded the money to get the DVD pressed up. He helps rent out a teen club in West Palm Beach. It kinda made him look sloppy. It looked like he was allowing all this stuff to go on. But it was real beneficial for the artists that had songs on there. Them and the street cats that spit freestyles on there got known. I was poppin’ before that but it helped, too. The song didn’t really get as hot until the DVD was released. We had actually stopped pushing the song. After the DVD was released, I got calls from Clay D and all them in Orlando trying to get shows. Do you want to give out any contact info? Www.myspace.com/suavesmoothofficial and my manager’s email address is torrey@outlookmusic.com. Words: Ms. Rivercity OZONE
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