Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, Calvin Richardson, a native of Monroe, North Carolina, officially stepped onto the music scene as a soloist back in 1999 with the arrival of debut LP, Country Boy [Universal / Motown Records]. Prior to this, Richardson was a member of short-lived R&B group Undacova.
Affectionately dubbed The Soul Prince, Calvin has also written for other notable artists; namely Angie Stone, Raphael Saadiq and Charlie Wilson.
First things first, let’s hop right into this single, “Can’t Let Go 2.0” — Tell me about this particular track; how did it actually come to fruition?
“Can’t Let Go 2.0” is the updated version of the original that I released on my All or Nothing album back in 2017, which was an acoustic version; turned out to be one of the biggest single songs of my career.
Of course “Can’t Let Go 2.0” comes courtesy of your new album, Five Years Later… — Although self-explanatory still tell me, conceptually, what this title represents both to and for you?
The title literally represents the length of time between the release of this album and the one that preceded it. If I go a bit deeper, Five Years Later…represents growth for me as a person and an artist, which I think is evident in the lyrical content and subject matters I chose to delve into on the album.
How then does Five Years Later… either differ and / or compare to previous Calvin Richardson entries?
It differs from all of my previous albums, only because I’m in a different place mentally than I’ve ever been on all of my albums before this. I’ve grown up, matured into the artist I’ve always longed to be!
As a songwriter, when you sit down to pen your lyrics where do you draw your inspiration from?
All of my songs were inspired by reflecting on the life that I’ve been fortunate enough to live; the good, bad and lovely! So again, I’m just telling my life story through my songs.
Now you’re also cousins with Dave Hollister, K-Ci & JoJo Hailey and Fantasia Barrino — What was it like growing up with R&B royalty (even tho they weren’t famous just yet!)? And, are there any plans in place for ALL of you to come together on either a recording or stage show, futuristically speaking?
Being connected with K-Ci, JoJo, Dave and Fantasia coming up in the business is a whole other story within itself. I’m super proud of the great success that we all have been able to achieve individually, and still remain as close as ever even though we don’t see each other that often. Only the future knows what the future holds.
On a more serious note, are you happy with the current state of R&B?
I’m fine with music and where it is! Times change and we as people change with every generation, so the music has no choice but to follow suit. We all as artists have a responsibility to be true to who we are, and that part is all that we should worry about!
What do you feel has and will continue to be the key to your longevity?
I make good music for great people…that’s what I do! That has been and will continue to be the key to my longevity.
To date, what has been your biggest career moment?
My biggest career moment was when I became completely independent and took control of my own career; from making the music, to putting it out from creating the music, recording it and owning a state of the art studio that it was recorded in mixed and mastered.
Looking ahead, say five or maybe even ten years from now, where do you see yourself?
Doing more of what I’m doing now; still creating music, helping other artists who have dreams and talent build a career, putting them on track to be that change in people’s lives that will always be needed. I wanna do what I’m doing as long as I love doing it, and when that changes I’ll make the necessary change with it and fall back to find something else to do.
As for the immediate, what’s next for Calvin Richardson?
I have a new message out there embodied in my new music Five Years Later… that I gotta deliver to the people, so that’s the plan and I’m looking forward to it.
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