Brian McKnight (E)
Brian McKnight's remarkable talent as a singer, writer, musician, producer and arranger is so dynamic, so engaging and so complete that on occasion, especially in this era of pop posers and music video vamp, he appears nothing less than an enigma.
Through a body of work that includes three best-selling albums - including the 1998 double platinum-plus ANYTIME - McKnight, just out of his twenties, has displayed the kind of understated brilliance and vision you expect from musical legends twice his age. And now, on the heels of his biggest commercial success, comes what arguably may the best McKnight album yet: BACK AT ONE.
BACK AT ONE, featuring the gorgeous title track and first single, is the Brian McKnight experience on another level. Written, produced, arranged and performed by McKnight, the album is McKnight the tunesmith and multi-faceted musician (keyboards, bass, guitars, drum programming), crafting memorable love songs such as the quiet airy "Cherish" and the yearning "6-8-12," during which McKnight seamlessly fuses pop and country interpretations.
"With BACK AT ONE, Brian is putting his mark on the music world, not only as a singer, but without question as a songwriter," Motown President & CEO Kedar Massenburg states. "I've always strived to have the artists I work with deliver music form their souls and as you listen to "Cherish," "6-8-12," and "BACK AT ONE" for example, you know Brian is doing just that. The lyrics are timeless, the tracks are mesmerizing."
It's McKnight seriously rocking the urban beat with hip-hop tango of "Last Dance," the beat-hardy "Shall We Begin" and the funky" Played Yourself," it's McKnight the adventurous collaborator inspiring hot producer Rodney Jerkins to his most soulful peak during the pocket groove, "Stay Or Let It Go." But it's also "Stay," a dreamy, sexy, chord-driven slice of pop/soul that is quintessential Brian McKnight. The track is yet another example of McKnight's unbridled creativity-it was recorded from top to bottom, in four hours, just days before McKnight turned in the project.
At the center of it all is McKnight the vocalist, who steps to the microphone and routinely delivers, with intuitive verve and grace, the kind of impassioned performances that cause fans and peers alike to gape in awe and wonder. You don't learn to sing like this; this is a gift.
McKnight humbly calls BACK AT ONE "my rise to the occasion. ANYTIME was received in such a way that I knew I had to follow it up with something really special, not just musically but commercially as well. The new album has a lot hanging on it (it is the first major release under the leadership of Motown's Massenburg), so I thought, well, if I'm expected to be the man, the let me be the man."
McKnight's ambitions are artfully underscored by the compelling music video for BACK AT ONE. Conceived and directed by Francis Lawrence, the dramatic clip takes an almost surreal approach to a love song that is beyond convention. Take a look and be captivated and...surprised.
BACK AT ONE Co-executive Producer Herb Trawick, CEO of the Trawick Company and Brian's longtime manager, defines the album thusly: "this is the best album Brian has ever done, no question, and not just because the material is great. There's a certain genius in sharing your talent with everyone - pop audiences, hip-hoppers, R&B lovers. Brian manages to do that with this LP and he makes it sound easy."
McKnight's expansive repertoire has always been rooted in the gospel and jazz on which he was weaned while growing up in Buffalo, New York. Reared in a musical family that includes older brother Claude, a founding member of the vocal group Take 6.
A talent of prodigious proportions early on, McKnight was proficient on keyboards, guitar and trumpet by high school years and leading his first band, a jazz-fusion unit at the age of 17. After tenure at Oakwood, a Christian College in Huntsville, AL during which time he met longtime co-writing partner Brandon Barnes and began recording demos - McKnight signed with the Mercury label at age 19.
His first album, 1992's BRIAN MCKNIGHT, which featured the classic ballad, "One Last Cry," and 1995's I REMEMBER YOU, including the sterling cover of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love," both achieved platinum status. Both "Crazy Love" and McKnight's production of "You Will Know," performed by the all-star assemblage of vocalists called Black Men United, appeared on the soundtrack for the hit urban film "Jason's Lyric." Meanwhile, the I REMEMBER YOU track "Every Beat of My Heart," adopted as a theme of the classic TV soap As the World Turns, pulled down an Emmy nomination.
Indeed, in a period just short of a decade, McKnight's creative output has been relentless. He produced tracks for Boyz II Men's CHRISTMAS INTERPRETATIONS; scored a Top 3 duet with Vanessa Williams' "Love Is"; sang on Quincy Jones' Q's JOOK JOINT, appeared on the soundtrack of "The Addams Family"; performed "Signed Sealed Delivered (I'm Yours) on the NBA AT 50 compilation; recorded with Diana King the title track of the Academy Award-winning Muhammed Ali documentary, "When We were Kings", and has produced Take 6, Chico DeBarge, and Xscape among others.
Television discovered McKnight's dashing looks and star presence; he became a recurring guest star on the WB Network's flagship sitcom, Sister Sister, with star twins Tia and Tamara. He has also co-hosted both the highly rated annual "Soul Train Music Awards" and "Lady of Soul Awards."
Thus, McKnight's blossoming brand power was in full effect in 1998 when Motown, Mercury's sister label, released ANYTIME. Collaboration-choked with such A-list players as songwriter Diane Warren, Mary J. Blige, and the Trackmasters production team, the LP's combustive first single, the top 20 pop hit, " You Should Be Mine, " a collaboration with hip-hop superstar Sean "Puffy" Combs, immediately took off.
However, it was McKnight's own "Anytime," the album's elegant, solemnly soulful title track, that sparked a chart and sales run unprecedented in McKnight's career. "Anytime" garnered 11 award nominations - including 2 Grammys (Pop and R&B Male Singer categories), American Music Award, MTV Music Award, Image Award, and Blockbuster Award - and received a Soul Train Award for Best male Singer. A triumphant concert tour showcased McKnight as fans had never before witnessed under the white hot lights: dynamic, unusually self-assured, and funny.
McKnight closed out 1998 with BETHLEHEM, his very first collection of Christmas songs. He also participated in the inspirational soundtrack from the Dreamworks animated epic "Prince of Egypt" and the accompanying NBC-TV special. Mid-1999 saw McKnight duet with superstar Mariah Carey, a longtime McKnight fan, on the track "Whenever You Call,' featured on Carey's multi-platinum In the meantime, the multi-platinum selling McKnight stands on the verge of forging yet new ground, and not just through millions of units sold: he also happens to be one of the few young artists truly equipped as a singer, songwriter, and musician, to take classic pop/soul craftmanship into the next millennium. McKnight, however, takes a far more uncomplicated view. "I just focus on what I do best, " he says, "which is make music." Fine. No matter how you view it, his is a ritual that will forever return McKnight to where we need him to be: BACK AT ONE
Source: Brian McKnights official website
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