George Huff’s entrée into the music industry may have been through American Idol, but I think his latest album, entitled George Huff, confirms that he’s not just another contestant from a nationwide talent search– he’s a bona fide gospel artist.

If you haven’t heard his project, you NEED to.  It’s ridiculously good– awesome vocals, songwriting and production.

Okay, enough intro… the interview says the rest!  Here’s my dude– George Huff.

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EJ:  Hey man!! How’s it going?

GH:  Hey!

EJ:  Thanks for chattin’ with me, I know you’re a busy dude right now.

GH:  Thank you SO much, Brother EJ, for interviewing me.  I’m so excited about this.  We’re always on your site, trying to get the latest and stuff.

EJ:  Oh, wow.  Thanks, man!  Before we get started, a random fact for you– my wife and I sat in front of you at the Stellars this year, in the first mezzanine.

GH:  I was excited to sit up there… you can see EVERYTHING.

EJ:  I know!  We all had some great seats.

GH:  And you were in front of me?

EJ:  Directly.

GH:  Oh, so y’all heard us clowning? *laughs*

EJ:  We heard EVERY BIT of y’all clowning! *laughing*

GH: *laughs* It was funny.  I can’t say exactly what we were laughing at, but I think we can all remember one thing in particular.

EJ:  Well, I can recall a couple of times, actually! *laughs* We’ll leave it alone.  Watch the tape!

GH: *laughing*

EJ:  Ok, let’s chat about your most recent project.  First, why did you title the album George Huff?

GH:  It was very difficult coming out of [American Idol] to really express myself the way that I wanted to.  It was very difficult to say “no” to a lot of things, so with the first CD, I basically let people tell me what they thought would be the best move, music-wise and vocally.  And I went along with that.

This time, I said “I just wanna sing.  I wanna sing and be myself, and not be controlled by anything or anybody.”  I really wanted to do it the way God gave it to me.  And I think that this particular CD, not just vocally, but lyrically, is more forward.  I’m really operating in who God has called me to be.

EJ:  Amen.

GH:  So, whatever the last CD was (which was an awesome CD), you got that… but this is George Huff.  Like KiKi [Sheard] says “this is me in my entirety.”

EJ:  *laughs*

GH:  There’s nothing sugar-coated, nothing that somebody else said for me.  It’s how God gave it to George Huff.  I had my hand in the whole decision-making process– the producers who’d be involved, the lyrics, the vocal arrangement… I feel like this is me, and nothing else.

EJ:  That’s great, man.  Your first project was on Word Entertainment… did you get that after Idol?

GH:  It came down to Word and another prestigious label.  I went with Word because… the offer was better! *laughs*

But I didn’t know, and no one ever knows, the issues that the label is going through when you sign.  I signed the contract and the whole regime changed.  The president and everyone else in his camp changed.  Word is known for more Christian and CCM artists, and they agreed to do things for me in a certain way.

But when the regime changed, the people who we knew could work our project were no longer there.  So, I had this mainstream CD that no one knew how to work– it wasn’t really gospel, wasn’t really CCM…

EJ:  Right, it was more inspirational.

GH:  Exactly.  One thing I’ve learned is that you have to be either hot or cold– can’t be in-between.  I was in-between.  It wasn’t gospel, and they wouldn’t play it on CCM radio.  So, I had no home.

But thank God for [the single] “Brighter Day.”  It was my saving grace– it kept me alive at gospel radio and people loved it.

EJ:  Oh, absolutely.  That was a popular track.

GH:  So, this time around, I was spent with everything I had gone through with Word and a bunch of other stuff.  I said “if this is what the industry is about, I’m ready to go back to a nine-to-five.”

I waited a while before I signed with my new label and I thought “if I do it, it’s gonna be something that I’m really going to enjoy and other people will enjoy.”

EJ:  Wow.

GH:  And you know, I would go to a church and not be able to sing anything on my CD.  Because the mood of the church– everyone was in worship mode.  So I had to come off my CD a lot.

This time, I wanted to make sure that the album was well-balanced.  I wanted to do what God was telling me to do, and what you’re hearing now is how God gave it to me.

EJ:  Well, we’re loving what God gave you, dude!  Your project features production from Aaron Lindsey, who’s brilliant, and a relative newcomer– Jamiene “J-Skills” Thompson.  Who is J-Skills and how did you hook up with him?

GH:  Well, I prayed that God would send somebody, connect me with somebody with whom I could create wonderful music.  And J-Skills saw me at a musical… you know, sometimes people just come up and say “hey, man, I wanna work with you!”  I gave him my number and said “yeah, yeah… call me!”

EJ: *laughing*

GH:  And I never saved his number, so when he called, he would leave a message and I was like “who is J-Skills?!”  One day, I went to another musical and saw him there and he said “man, I’ve been trying to CALL you!”

And I never want to be that type of person that doesn’t listen to people, won’t sit down and talk to people, so I sat there and I said “let’s hook up.”

At the same time, I was praying because I was looking for producers for the project.  There was one prominent producer that wanted to work with me, but I wanted to do something DIFFERENT… something fresh and new.

EJ:  Yeah.

GH:  So, J-Skills and I set up a time to meet up.  First, when I walked in the studio, I thought “where IS the studio?!”  I didn’t see the equipment– there was a computer, a small mixing board, a keyboard, a closet… but I was like “where’s the studio?!”.  And I thought “I KNOW this ain’t gonna work.” *laughs*

EJ: *laughing*

GH:  But he pulled a program up on his computer… basically, it’s not about how much equipment you’ve got– there are programs that house all of these huge mixing boards that you see on TV.  All of that can be housed in one program.

He turned the speakers on and the first track he played was “Grateful.”  I said “WHAT?!  WHAT IS THAT?!”

EJ:  Amazing! *laughing*

GH:  My face fell off, EJ.  I couldn’t believe the QUALITY of what I was hearing.  And, right there, I said “Lord, please forgive me for going by what I see and not believing in the things that I’ve been hoping for– quality, somebody to bond with on a personal level…”

And sure enough, when I heard that, I said “I’ve got to have it.”  The odds were against him because the label was like “we don’t know who this is…”

EJ:  Sure.

GH:  So, we just recorded the songs.  And I said “we are working with this dude, right here.”  I was already working with a tight budget, so I said “J-Skills is your best bet.  He HAS to do half of the CD because he’s awesome and I wanna work with him.”

They saw that I wasn’t bending.  And thank God for Aaron Lindsey for what he did on this project.  He saw something in me that I knew was there, but because of the people around me, I couldn’t get it out.  And he was dedicated to making sure that what he produced for me was a great representation of who I am.

EJ:  Envision with me what your life might be like if you had won American Idol– you probably would have had to debut with an R&B album, right?

GH:  Yes, I sure would’ve.

EJ:  Looking back, would you have felt fulfilled by that?

GH:  You know what?  I would have.  Only because I know that it would have been God’s Will concerning me– the Bible says that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and who are the called according to His purpose.

Before I auditioned, I sought God.  I was struggling to pay for school, you know, and I didn’t know what I was going to do.  God put American Idol in my view and I thought “well, I don’t know how that’s gonna work, because it’s not ‘sanctified,’” you know?

EJ:  Mm-hmm.

GH:  I was so “spiritually minded” that I couldn’t see that God was going to use that platform– He will use whatever He wants to use– to get me to the desired place in Him.

So, in the end, the outcome was successful because it was something that God told me to do.  If I had won the competition, I would have done an R&B album– it wouldn’t have been degrading or anything– because that’s what God would have had me to do.

EJ:  Coming out of American Idol and into the gospel industry, were you well-received by the other artists?  Did they embrace you as one of their own, or did some of them treat you like you weren’t quite on their level?

GH:  People don’t know that I’m a church boy.  And I love choirs– name any choir song and I can sing the entire tenor part.  I can tell you who used to stand on the front row in the Thompson Community Singers.  I can tell you who stands where in Ricky Dillard & New G, and tell you what they looked like on the DVDs. [Editor's Note: At this point, George rattles off skin complexions, hair colors and facial expressions of about half of New G's soprano section! LOL]

EJ:  Wowwww. *laughs*

GH:  That’s how much of a church boy I am.  But, having been on American Idol, people saw me as THAT.  Some of the industry folks didn’t accept me right away because they wanted to know that I was ”real” before they would embrace me as one of their own.

EJ:  That’s gotta be rough.

GH:  Yeah.  And I talk to Shirley Murdock a lot.  I call her my “auntie.” *laughs* She said that it happened to her, too, and that it was kinda heartbreaking.  She said “the people that I thought would embrace me just shoved me away.”  And I’m talking about other artists.

EJ:  That’s just so ridiculous to me.  And I’ve heard stories about that, too.

GH:  They think “oh, here’s another secular artist trying to come to gospel now.”  But that’s not the truth because I could be living in L.A. right now, singing everything under the sun and they’ll love me.  Makin’ MONEY.

But my heart is with the Lord because I owe Him this.  He’s worthy of it.  When you can be healed in your body, when your needs are supplied… I owe Him my LIFE.  Because nobody else did for me what He did for me.

EJ:  Yeah.

GH:  When I was struggling in school, or living in New Orleans with my four siblings.  We had to carry buckets of water down the street… it was 2:00 in the morning because we didn’t want anybody to see that we had to carry jugs of water because our water was off.  Come on, now.

I’m not doing this “just because,” like I’m trying to prove something to someone, or because I needed something to fall back on.  This is where my HEART is.

EJ:  Wow, man.  That’s for real.

GH:  But we’ve had to prove ourselves to other artists.  They say “where is he coming from, and why is he trying to get some of our money?”

EJ:  And I’ve heard stuff like that about other artists who sang R&B, but never “left” the church, like Coko, Kelly Price or Dave Hollister.  They were attending service every week, they were tithing, they were donating anonymously… doing more for the Body than some of the “churchy” folks.

And consumers and industry folks get so skeptical of them doing gospel music, but I’m so glad that Jesus doesn’t look at us with doubt when we come to Him.  I’m glad that He always gives the benefit of the doubt, even knowing us better than anyone else.

GH:  That’s right.  It’s very unfortunate.  And we have this thing going on with us, thinking that just because we’ve been in church forever, we have a right to be so judgmental.  We make people not wanna be a part of it.

EJ:  You’re right.  Lemme ask you– I think you strike everyone as a guy who’s always gonna give a smile and a good “God bless ya.”  Every interview, every appearance, you’re just a happy guy.  Don’t you ever just feel like rolling your eyes or sucking your teeth at someone?

GH:  Yes, I do.

EJ:  *laughing*

GH:  And lemme tell you this– and I DO. *laughs*

I really do.  I think American Idol kinda set it up where I was this “smiley” guy, so coming from that, everyone was like “oh yeah, that little goofy guy.”  The image that people had of me– and yes, I try to find joy in everything– but they didn’t see a real person.

So, no, I’m not always smiling.  My family can tell you that.  I’m the same person, but when it comes to certain things, I’ve gotten a backbone.

EJ:  Amen.  And that’s necessary.  Okay, gimme some quick getting-to-know you info.

GH:  Okay.

EJ:  Fill in the blanks.  George Huff is afraid of ________________.

GH:  Oh Lord.  George Huff is afraid of… there’s one movie in particular that I will NEVER watch again because I’ve seen this particular thing happen in real life… at a church member’s house…

EJ:  You’re talking about The Exorcist!

GH:  YES!  Yes, yes, yes… *sighs*

EJ:  *laughing*  Okay.  One artist that George would love to record with is _____________.

GH:  That would’ve been Ella Fitzgerald or Luther Vandross, but… I love this lady and we’ve talked about it on many occasions… that artist would be Kim Burrell.

EJ:  Oh, that would be insane!  And I need it to happen.  When I first heard the single, “Don’t Let Go,” it reminded me SO much of the production quality and vocal agility of something from her Everlasting Life album, I thought “now, I need to hear the two of them together!”

GH:  Oh, my Lord.  Thank you so much!  That is my dream.  I’m not forcing it, but I want it to happen.

EJ:  Ok, tell me this one: If he’s not singing someplace, you’ll probably find George ___________________.

GH:  You’ll probably find me at home, sitting on the couch, watching old episodes of Good Times.  I love watching Martin… throwback sitcoms. 

EJ:  That’s cool, man.  Let me tell ya, I appreciate you so much.  Thanks for chatting with me.

GH:  Oh, I appreciate YOU for this opportunity, Brother EJ.  We love what you’re doing– giving gospel artists a place to exist, allowing people to hear our voice.  We’re always on your site, me and my little sister, like… white on rice.

EJ: *laughing*  I appreciate it, man.  And keep in touch, alright?

GH:  Alright.

EJ:  Okay.  Bye-bye.

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That’s all, folks!  If you don’t have the project yet, GET IT.  I promise you’re gonna love it.  Check it out at Amazon.com, where you can listen to snippets of each track.

In the meantime, PLEASE do yourself a favor and listen to this track– it’s “Destiny” featuring Coko and Tasha Collins.  Mind-blowing!

And uhhhhhh… whatd’ya think of the interview?