How has your music changed from when you started to now?

To be honest, since then I've touched it up, because back then it was a bit more of a movement. It was something fresh, something very new, and something very organic when we did the whole cultural fusion and using sounds from my Indian culture and all that kind of stuff. But then what happened was that the sound actually became very tired and a lot of people started to do the same thing. I just felt it wasn't very fresh anymore. It wasn’t new. So I was stuck in this predicament like, "what do I wanna do? Do I want to find a new sound?" But then I was like, “why do we always chase sounds,” ya know? Why don't I just write very solid songs; that's what music should be about. It’s just writing great songs and great music. And that's what I really focused on with this album. I listened to people like Jodeci and Boyz II Men and Brian Mcknight; all these guys I grew up loving. Actually all these albums are classics of mine. Michael Jackson. Gosh, you can play any Michael Jackson song from 20 years ago and it still sounds so fresh. That's what I want to do with my music.

Do you think you've been pigeonholed in the music industry because of your race?

Yes, I think I was pigeonholed. I think a lot more people are opening up and realizing how ridiculous it is to pigeonhole someone by race like that. I saw when Eminem first got “White Rapper” but they dropped the white there and ended up just saying great rapper. And I think, ultimately, I understand why people pigeonhole you, because they want to put you in this section so that they can digest you and understand what kind of person you are etc, etc. But my whole thing is that it’s cool to do that but there’s a lot more to me than just my background. Because my background is obvious, I wear it all over my face. Lets take that and focus it on the music, me as an artist, and me as a person rather than me as a race.

Was your US marketability ever doubted before you were signed?

Not at all. Slim’s--who is CEO of Cash Money-- exact words were—I still remember because I laughed—he said, “ Yo dawg, I don’t even know whether you’re Indian or Pakistanian, or whatever. I don’t even care. I just love your music” Perfect! You couldn’t have said anything better to me. He said, “I don’t care, your music is what I love and that is what I’m signing you for and that’s what I think people will love you for.” And you know, I really respected him for that so much. He didn’t care one bit.

Was it hard to transition your efforts from the UK to the US?

Actually it is easier than I thought. Because I think what happened was that when a song blows up in America, or when an artist blows up in America, they almost automatically blow up everywhere else around the world. That’s why so many people focus on breaking America. To be honest it’s like the films here, if any film that becomes a blockbuster hit in the cinema--or the theatre as you guys call it -- will automatically get distribution around the world because that’s just how it is. And it’s the same with X-Men going around the world, and it’s the same with any artist over here that really blows up; they pretty much get success around the world. Because of the fact that “Down” really blew up for me here in America, I guess the label here- Cash money and Universal republic—without me even knowing have already been working the international side of things. So it’s all over radio in so many different countries and I didn’t even know about it.

Can you tell us about some of your upcoming collaborations?

I’m doing a song with Kevin Rudolph, Birdman, and Lil Wayne, and myself so that’s us four on a track so I’m really looking forward to that. It’s going to be crazy. I’m working on getting … well, see I’m not going to say anything because it’s for the next album so I’m going to keep my mouth shut. But you can look forward to that coming up soon.

What inspired the theme of your next album?

Well, yes, you’re right. There is a distinct theme in the album title and the reason I do that is because I think of it this way: An album, when you’re putting it together, you’re offering the world a piece of work-- You’re a body of work-- that you think is important enough and good enough for people to spend their money on and that is a big thing to ask of people. Therefore I feel like you should put everything into that. This album “All or Nothing” is exactly that. That’s why I called it that. Because it’s like you either do this fully-- the whole 9 yards—or don’t even bother. Don’t try to do it halfway. Don’t insult your fans and give them an album full of album fillers. You give everything and that’s what my whole motto is and that’s how I live my life. I do it all, or nothing at all, and that’s how it is.

What can you offer a new audience in the US?

To be honest I feel like I’m a brand new artist in mainstream America. I think I always get excited when I discover someone new and discover everything about them. Check out all their material that they might have done before. Try to find demos find where they might be performing. See them get into something brand new. It’s always nice to discover something new and I think that’s what I have to offer America.  And plus, I have a history in this game. I go back 6 years in this game so there’s a lot of material that America has yet to hear from me. So I think I’m very excited about that prospect. And I think If I was American citizen, I’d be excited that this new dude came along and is getting into it and I think that’s what I have to offer.

What advice can you leave us with?

My thing is this and I’ve always said this; [if] you’re good enough people will see past anything. If your music is good enough people forgive… people forgave R Kelly, ya know, for his allegations. Suddenly, He drops “Ignition: and everyone’s like, “Awh, yea, we love R Kelly” Michael Jackson- a classic example. No matter what people said of him people still loved him because of his music and because of his work. So if you’re good enough and your music speaks for you, people will look past everything else. So make sure whatever you have to offer is of high quality standing and just make damn good music and I don’t think anything can stand in the way of that.

* Images linked within this feature are provided by MTV.com

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