Writer's Strike

Already a prolific songwriter, Sean Garrett now sets his sights on doing the singing.

The phone rings. For most folks, an aunt or co-worker would be on the other end. In the case of chart-topping songwriter Sean Garrett, it's probably Usher or Fergie calling. But then again, if you're the man responsible for penning smash singles for the likes of Ciara ("Goodies"), Chris Brown ("Run It") and Destiny Child ("Solider"), it potentially could be anyone in the industry reaching out for something.

"Hey, Scobby Doo," Sean says to his son excitedly. "You comin' to the studio today? You guess?! You don't wanna hang out with daddy? Well, I'm at the studio, so if you wanna come, just tell mamma to bring you."

Think that's something. Just wait ‘til you hear Garrett, 30, open up on his just-released solo debut, Turbo 919. It's that sexy, Michael-Jackson-circa-‘80 soul the buying public will love and fellow artists will resent the super talent for because he didn't call them with it first.

You've been writing since ‘03. Why are you only now coming out with a solo project?

I didn't wanna do an album just to do an album. I want people to feel like Sean has taken what he's learned from some of the greats like Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson and the Beatles and Bobby Brown and New Edition. It's not just urban [my album]. It sorta transcends from where I'm from, Atlanta, Georgia, to international. At five I moved to Europe. My dad was in the military. I was able to see a whole lot of the world, but I still never lost my roots. I was able to learn a lot abroad and sort of incorporate that into what I do as a songwriter and producer.

Why is your debut called Turbo 919?

It's always like speed, like evolution. Some people ain't really ready to see you evolve into another episode of your life. A lot of people are scared of change. They tend to feel a lil' off kilter when they see change, when they feel change. I've been one of the most dominant songwriters of the last five years, hands down. I've been really appreciative of the respect I've been given and have earned. But at the same time, I still have plenty of things to do. One thing I know about this business: no matter how many hits you have, they're still gonna make you earn it. I love and respect that. That's the game. I just wanna keep working hard. I feel like I'm just really beginning. I don't really want to talk about my album and force it on people. I want them to feel like, "Yo, I can't even front. This album is for real." That's it.

So, you don't have any reservations about stepping to the mic?

No, ‘cuz I was an artist when I was young. I signed to do my first record when I was 15 years old. I've been an artist all my life. I just had to deal with the opportunities that were presented to me. I love writing, producing records for other people too. That's just a blessing. That's a gift. I thank God every minute for having the opportunity to bless my gift with other people. I know how difficult it is to come up with hits. This business is so fierce with money, people are so vindictive, that they tend to forget how fortunate we are to have people like Smokey Robinson and Lionel Richie, people that were artists themselves but still have the ability to give their gift to other artist [via songwriting] so they could live. That's a real gift. That's a blessing. I'm not saying that from the perspective that [other artists] should praise me, but they should praise people that have that ability [to share]. I don't hold it all for myself. I still give it. I did 13 No. 1 records before I even talked about doing an album. 25 Top 20 songs before I even talked about doing an album. That's an unselfish feat [seeing] as how I knew I could sing. When you hear my album, I knew I could sing when I was young.

What are the secrets behind all the energy you must have?

I'm still a kid, at the end of the day. It's like a kid on the playground. You could go get on the monkey bars or you could go play catch with your friends or football or kickball or soccer or we could get on the see-saw. There's a whole lot of stuff to do on the playground. Music is a playground for me. I could go mess country if I wanted to. I could go mess with rock. I could go mess with R&B. I could go mess with pop R&B. I could mess with some crossover, just as long as I remain consistent. There's a fine line between playing and business. There's a common denominator in business, playing and winning. I think the common denominator is focus. Even when I'm playing, I'm focused on winning at playing. I'm focused at winning at business. I never get tired, man, ‘cuz when it's over it's over. I'mma go like James Brown. It's a blessing. You can't take for granted opportunity. You can't take life and love for granted. I've been a victim of taking love for granted—not ‘cuz I wanted to but because my priorities were somewhere else. I've had to learn the hard way with that.  I've got a real love for music. I love it to the end. I love it like a drug. I won't say I love it as much as I love God, but I enjoy what it gives me. I enjoy what it makes me feel like to create a new song that everybody feels.

Speaking of which, your first big song was Usher's "Yeah." What exactly does that feel like, making something the masses love?

That's a humbling experience, first of all. That's when you know that God is alive. It's a situation where you don't have to be breathing. You don't have to get up in the morning and be okay. That's when you start to realize that God is for real. God gives and God taketh. Most people think [having a popular song] makes you a king, but what it does is make you say, "Wow, God is a very explosive power." He can give you life or take life from you if you're not appreciative of what it is. That's what makes me want to do it over and over again. It's not permanent feeling ‘cuz life has ups and downs. It's definitely a triumphant feeling because, at the time when that was created, you had doubters. You had haters. You had people that said they knew better than you knew. Ultimately, it's like the NBA playoffs; people had their bets and somebody had to lose and somebody had to win. Fortunately, we won the bet.