Nylon - November 2008 - (Page 106) AFTER BEING FEATURED ON OTHER PEOPLE’S CHART-TOPPING SINGLES, KERI HILSON IS READY FOR SOME OF HER OWN. BY KATE WILLIAMS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY PEGGY MCDONNELL front and center 106 stylist: elle werlin. hair: ursala steplen for ojon/epiphany artist group. makeup: sharon gault from photo genies beauty for smashbox. vest by ralph lauren, t-shirt by diesel, necklace and earrings by exhibitionist. As Keri Hilson sinks into a plush chair in a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, café, her eyes almost glaze over with relief at finally being able to sit down. “Whew,” she says, and flashes me a wry smile. “Good luck with this interview.” The 26-year-old singer from Atlanta has been in New York for just three days, on a nonstop tour of parties, photo shoots, and interviews. Outside the restaurant, a black SUV waits to take Hilson to her next appointment, and an assistant wearing an antiBush T-shirt chomps on a slice of pizza nearby. Being caught up in a whirlwind has been typical for Hilson in the last year, since guesting on a slew of chart-topping singles, starting with Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” and “Scream,” and making appearances on tracks by Chris Brown, Nas, and Justin Timberlake. Her debut album, In a Perfect World —a mix of bouncy bangers and emotional ballads—has increased the fury tenfold. But Hilson, who is Maybelline ad beautiful with creamy skin and feline eyes, appears calm and unhurried—she pores over the menu before deciding on mac and cheese and tomato soup—even if it’s clear that she’s not entirely comfortable with the hullabaloo around her. “I’m still getting used to it,” she says. “I’m used to doing everything alone, and now it sometimes feels like I have babysitters; like there’s someone making sure you wake up and making sure you go to bed and everything in between. I’m used to making my own schedule and working when I’m inspired, but I’m not afforded that luxury anymore.” But Hilson, who has essentially been preparing for success her entire life, should have seen it coming. “When I was a kid, my teachers would call my parents and be like, ‘Keri hums while she’s doing her work, and the other kids can’t focus,’” she laughs. In an attempt to cure her of what she jokingly refers to as “musical ADD,” her parents allowed her to compete in area talent shows. As a teenager, she joined a girl group that landed a record deal but broke up a year later. “I thought it was the end of the world,” Hilson recalls. “But I’d been writing songs the whole time, and it was around then that I actually sold my first one.” The track was bought by a Japanese R&B artist named Michico, and Hilson, who was just 17 at the time, went on to work with Atlantabased production collective the Clutch, writing for Kelly Rowland, Ciara (“Ooh Baby”), Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown (“Young Love”), Diddy, Usher, and Britney Spears (“Gimme More”). In the process, she learned to run a studio full of older—and often more experienced—people. “I would write and arrange the song, engineer my own sessions, cut my own vocals, and do my own edits with Pro Tools,” she says. “You have to be really careful with your words when you’re working with certain people. Guys are a bit different, too. They’re like, ‘You’re a kid. How the hell are you showing me what I’ve been doing for years?’ But it always seemed to work out.” Hilson loved doing work for other artists—“I got to sing and didn’t have to worry about what I was wearing”— but continued to record her own demo. Thus, In a Perfect World has been a long time coming, and ironically, the first single, “Energy,” is the only track on the album that Hilson didn’t pen. It’s an interesting choice, since her writing skills help differentiate her from more prefab singers, but is also characteristic of her desire to keep things as unpredictable as she can. “I like to push the limit,” she says. “Like, ‘How far can I go, and how different can I make this and have it still be mainstream and considered pop music?’”
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.