Tweet has been missing from the game for what seems like a millennia in the music industry, but the songbird is preparing to once again step to the forefront of the nest and give her most impressive coo to date. She’s riding on the sampler that is her EP Simply Tweet, the precursor to her summer 2013 full-length album, and the R&B siren is making the necessary waves to remind us of her immense vocal talent and wordsmith craftsmanship. The single “Enough” is any indication, Simply Tweet (the album) should soar, just like a bird free from all limitations, just like a woman who understands the power of her free rein.
We chopped it up with Tweet on everything from her growth as an artist, being an R&B Diva, what she does to keep the elegance, why simplicity is her slogan for life, and much more.
Singersroom: You’ve said you’re in a different place than when you recorded Southern Hummingbird. How so?
Tweet: Spiritually, I’m in a different place and of course I’m older now. Southern Hummingbird, I was basically free to do whatever I wanted to do, but I was still a little timid coming out of being in a group. Very insecure, and didn’t even wanna be a solo artist so that’s the difference. But now I know what I wanna do, I know I’m a solo artist, I write and all that stuff, so I’m in a different place that way as well.
Singersroom: Has time redefined you or are you going to give us classic Tweet?
Tweet: I can’t stray from who I am, I can’t compromise my sound. I think more so now I’m tuned into really who I am. Southern Hummingbird was just the tip of the iceberg for me. Again, like I said, I was very timid and very insecure, but now I’m secure in knowing who I am as an artist, as a woman, so you’ll see that on this album. So it’s still classic Tweet, but I’m singing a little more on this, very confident in my vocal skills.
Singersroom: Simply Tweet will allow you to shine, no collabs, just you and your words. Was it a therapeutic process during its creation?
Tweet: Every time I write, it’s therapeutic. I think when I’m going through anything, my best solution to get over it or to deal with it is to write, whether it’s a poem or the lyrics without the music. So on Simply Tweet, it’s just a lot of stuff that I has bottled up inside because I had been off the scene for a while, had enough time to get myself together, so this is just the results of the time off. So yeah, it’s very therapeutic. The EP is just a few songs we did live, but the rest of the album is totally a great body of work.
Singersroom: Given the choice, who would you want to collab with?
Tweet: Bilal again, Maxwell, a guy Joonie that I love a lot, and on the gospel side as well, Tye Tribbett, Jonathan Mcreynolds, people like that.
Singersroom: You’re very removed from the public eye, do you dislike the media attention that comes with being a star?
Tweet: I’ve always been a private person, I’ve never been the type that likes a lot of attention, the “I need the camera on me all the time,” I’ve never been that type. It’s just who I am. I don’t mind now, letting people know a little bit about my life because, I think it’s more I want them to know about the music side because a lot of people think it’s easy. I just want them to know the truth about what’s going on in the industry and what people go through day to day. So I’m open more now to let people in.
Singersroom: Would you be interested in joining the cast of R&B Divas?
Tweet: I was actually supposed to be on the first show [season], and unfortunately, I decided to focus on my music because I didn’t really wanna be on a show really not doing anything, and I’m still open to doing something like that.
Singersroom: Do you watch any of these reality shows that deal with the lives of those in the music industry?
Tweet: Yeah, definitely. I think it’s wonderful to see. I’ve met and been around those women, their very positive women, so I love the direction it’s going, definitely.
Singersroom: You’re stunning! Any beauty/health secrets you can share?
Tweet: For myself, cause I used to be a smoker and a drinker, I decided to cut all of that out and stopped eating a lot of red meat. Just chicken and turkey, and fruits and vegetables and drink a lot of water. That’s really what I do. My daily regimen is Oil of Olay and simple stuff on my skin, I don’t do all of those extra things. I just keep it simple, that’s my motto for life.
Singersroom: Your daughter Tashawna can be seen on YouTube singing. Is she officially following in your musical footsteps? She looks just like you, she sounds just like you (laughs).
Tweet: (laughs) I don’t see it! Everyone says that, but I still have yet to see it. Certain pictures, I see where she looks like me, but I think she favors her father a lot. But she definitely wants to step into this music thing. I was leery at first, but now that she’s older, I can’t say don’t do it, but I support her 100%. She’s really talented and she’s definitely on her way. We have a couple people interested in what she wants to do, so we’ll what happens, but definitely, she wants to do this.
Singersroom: Outside of music, what other career opportunities would you want to pursue?
Tweet: I really thought about doing an autobiography, write a book. But I do wanna do some acting but my number one role was to do Mahogany over and I’m hearing they’re re-doing that movie and I’m kinda upset because, not upset in a bad way, but that was my lifetime, longtime, I wanted to really do that movie, so now that I hear that it’s coming out, I’m excited about it. And also fashion, cause I’m a hat lady, I love wearing hats, I wanna get into a little fashion stuff as well.
Singersroom: Maybe there’ll be a Mahogany stage play or something like that, so it’s not all bad!
Tweet: Yeah, definitely!
Singersroom: Where do you think RNB is going as a genre?
Tweet: I think it’s coming back, not that it had left or anything, but I think it’s coming back to the forefront because people are really craving real music. I think they’re getting tired of the stuff that’s out now, not that cats now don’t have great music, but the real, live instrumentation, real MUSIC music, I think people are craving that. I think it’s on its way back to the main stage, and I appreciate it.
Singersroom: Your music is empowering for women, and you’ve been through rough relationships. The first single “Enough” is a testament to that. Do you have any advice on rebounding from a toxic relationship?
Tweet: I can only give what I did, cause I was in a toxic relationship, but what I did was remove myself. I know it’s hard. Also I went through the emotions. Some people think you just have to let it go and be hard up and move to the next thing. But sometimes you have to deal with those emotions so you can be free from it and heal from it. And also pray, and allow God to heal you so you can be totally healed from the root, up, and out, you know what I mean, so that’s the advice I would give. Go through it, let God take you through it and just be healed and grow from it.
Singersroom: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Tweet: On the stage possible, like Frankie Beverly and Maze (laughs), that’s what I really wanna do because I really didn’t get the opportunity to really hit a lot of markets, a lot of people, and just be on stage constantly with my career prior to this. Also, become a business woman and I want my music to heal the world. In five years, maybe have my own production company, just music, music, music, happily married, all that stuff!
