On Thursday 17th October, I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the kings of R&B TANK at his Dockland’s hotel ( don’t worry no kinky business) ahead of his headline R&B concert at the indingo2, alongside acts such as Joe, 112 and Jagged Edge.
Upon arrival I was greeted by the PR Manager Ra’ed also known to many as Mr Poetical, who introduced me to the well -mannered and casually attractive TANK! (Yes he made a casual hoody look GOOD! lol)
I Kicked off straightaway by welcoming the star to the UK and London for the first time, he corrected me by adding “it’s my third time in London, but it’s my first time performing as Tank!”
Now considering this is one of the R&B Kings, someone that has been Internationally serenading ladies for so many years, I had to ask
WHY IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME PERFORMING IN THE UK?
TANK replied – I have absolutely no idea I’m asking everyone that I work with – why this is my first time, but I can’t be mad about what didn’t happen, All I can do is be happy about what is happening and about to happen.
The indigo2 concert comes at a very good time for TANK, as he recently released his first official album Three Kings, as apart of the man-band TGT that h recently joined with Tyrese and Genuine, who Im sure they go without any further introductions, as they are truely some of the pioneers of the Slow Jams era.
Considering TANK is on a line up with several other R&B Kings, I thought it was important that we get to understand
WHY does TGT consists of Tyrese, Genuine and Tank and only those 3 singers?
Tank replied – All three of us are actual friends, Genuine is one of the guys that started my career back in 1997, Genuine was the best man at Tyrese’s wedding, Tyrese lives right up the street from me, and i go to his house and i eat all of his food. When your putting something this serious, and something of this magnitude, it takes a sturdy foundation.
We’ve seen the best groups come and go…
We wanted to establish something based on something bigger, friendship and our comradery just as men, as black men of course, we wanted to show that as well as showcase our music.
Tank and the TGT kings are definitely back to take a stand and represent the R&B community. He went on to explain
What is an R&B KING?
TANK INTERVIEW – Are Chris Brown & Trey Songz Kings of R&B? by Remel London
As well as being a Singer, Tank is also a song-writer and producer, with a long list of producer credits and collaborations, one of late is his most recent solo release was a track called SHOTS FIRED featuring Chris Brown, it was clear that Chris Brown was thought highly of by Tank, as during the course of the interview he went on to show his support and views on Chris Brown’s credibility in the R&B scene.
TANK INTERVIEW – Chris Brown is Under-rated in R&B by Remel London
IS R& B DEAD?
As the interview progressed, I got the impression that Tank is very passionate about the R&B game and it almost seemed as though he was there to defend a former mainstream genre, that has diminished, So to put his faith in the game to the test, I asked him
What is the current state of R&B?
TANK INTERVIEW – Miguel’s hit Adorn Saved R&B by Remel London
Aside, of Chris Brown, Miguel and Trey Songz, Tank seemed to struggle to name any other male R&B singers that are representing at the moment, and this raised the alarms
Why aren’t there many NEW male R&B singers?
Tank says it’s hard to break in now, trying to break into the R&B game is the hardest thing ever, and that’s why there aren’t any news cats, their not really letting them in.
Tank went on to say, referring to the TGT group, because we’ve had success and because of the relationships we’ve had over the years, we’re able to keep that going. The fact that we’re already in gives us the one-up. we’re already established, we’re known and we’re bankable and they know that people want to see us because they know us.
As the R&B world has slowly creeped out of the mainstream, the rap and hip hop industry has definitely gained a lot more popularity in the mainstream world, in a previous interview online, Tank quoted “I want a rapper to need a singer to be mainstream” I asked him to explain
Why do rappers not need singers to be successful?
TANK – INTERVIEW – Rappers Don’t Need Singers to be successful by Remel London
As an R&B singer it must be a sad awakening to consider that an artform such as singing, has been almost eradicated because of rappers, who often if I’m honest have no musical talent what-so-ever, so i asked him what does he think of the current rap and hip hop scene and
DID RAP KILL R&B?
TANK INTERVIEW – DID RAP KILL R&B? by Remel London
Although, Tank was a little lost for words and especially names when describing the talent in the male R&B scene, he had nothing but praise for the ladies of R&B. Beyonce, Brandy, Fantasia, Kelly Rowland, Mary J Blige, Kelly Price and Jennifer Hudson are all names Tank claimed are Killing it and are R&B QUEENS!
ONES TO WATCH
Although Tank believes it is tough for new talent to break through, of course that is not the be all and end all, artists such as
Adrian Marcel // Eric Belinger // Lonny Bereal as all acts that he hopes will make it into the industry and continue to be pioneers of R&B and he also introduced me to an artist that he currently manages and was very excited whilst talking about
Siya – The first openly gay rapper!
TANK INTERVIEW – The First openly gay rapper – SIYA! by Remel London
Both before and after this interview I checked out Siya’s recent work and she is definitely ONE TO WATCH!
Overall I managed to get a great interivew with Tank who is a total gentleman, we laughed and joked and he even held the audio recorder throughout the interview to ensure that the sound quality was on point!
He is an inspirational artist with great musical journey, and I’m sure there are a lot of emerging artists that may want some advice from one of the biggest Kings of R&B around, so it’s only right that we get some advice!
To end the interview I asked TANK – What advice would you give to new and emerging talent?
TANK INTERVIEW – What you need to be an R&B success! by Remel London
Thank you to the R&B Kings promoters, Tank, Tank’s management and Mr Poetical for the press opportunity!
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