R&B veteran Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers is gearing up for the release of a new studio album entitled “Mr. I,” scheduled to drop November 30. The disc will be his first release since his stint in federal prison for tax evasion charges. On the heels of ‘Mr. I,’ Ron will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Soul Train Awards, airing Nov. 28 on BET and Centric after taping Nov. 10. Singersroom recently caught up with Mr. Isley, where he shared his feelings on the legacy of the Soul Train Awards. “Being black that was the only thing. It was real but it was the only thing,” Ron tells Singersroom. “You couldn’t get on TV cause TV wasn’t showing nothing else. So Soul Train was one of the ways to show your people what you were doing. I’m glad about Soul Train and that it last this long. Like I said it was the only thing for black people.” On ‘Mr. I,’ Ron worked with some of today’s popular stars like Aretha Franklin, Lauren Hill, Tank, and rapper T.I., whose 11-month sentence caught him off guard. “Man I was stunned,” Ron tells Singersroom.“We are all friends and the hope was that he got pass this. He got 11 months…he may not have to do 11 months…you know but we didn’t want him to do any time.” Ron, who also stared a hefty jail sentence in the face, added, “I didn’t think it was fair… you know it’s because who he is that all the attention is on him.”