Amber Bullock interview with ASCAP!
Gospel artist Amber Bullock talks to “On the Come Up” about donning her “Sunday best.”
You are known as the Season Four winner of BET’s Sunday Best television series. What motivated you to audition for the series? What was the most important lesson that you learned from your experience on the show?
Amber: I am not a big fan of competition shows actually, and I had to revamp my thinking about the competition. I thought of it as a platform as opposed to a competition. The great thing that I did learn from it was that it was a platform. A lot of times in the music industry, we are competing and don’t realize a lot of the opportunities that are right there just by being yourself. If I wouldn’t have won the show, I would not have been worried because I knew that somebody was going to see something about me that they liked. So, I just kind of held on to that and the rest is history.
You recently released your sophomore project, So In Love. What can fans expect to hear on the new LP?
A: You can expect some wonderful production by PJ Morton. You can also expect some wonderful production from the Grammy Award-winning producer Sean Martin. You can expect some features from Kirk Franklin and Isaac Carree. You can expect just feel good music. You’ll be able to put the CD in and leave it in - no skipping necessary, you can just go from beginning to end. I like to think of it as a perfect date. You can expect all live instrumentation, live strings and live horns. You can expect some out-of-the-box Gospel.
I listened to the album and one of the songs that really stood out was “Take It Back.” What was the creative process behind the song?
A: One day, PJ called me and said, “Yo, do you like that song by Rihanna, ‘We Found Love?’” I said, “PJ, that’s my jam!” So, we decided to do “Take It Back” based off of that and it worked. The thing I love the most about that song is that it’s a pop song, but the message is still there. I’m just proud of the whole thing.
Where are you originally from?
A: St. Louis, MI.
Who is your musical mentor and why?
A: I don’t know if I have a mentor. I just have a lot of people that I admire. I haven’t necessarily adapted a mentor as of yet. There are so many people that I look up to, for instance, Brandy, Kim Burrell and of course, PJ Morton. Kirk Franklin doesn’t sing, but I will definitely give him the mentor title as an artist. He’s been teaching me the ropes and teaching me about what the business is. He is number one. He’s always looking out for somebody, especially me. I have been blessed in that way.
What inspires you to create music?
A: It kind of just comes to me. I kind of let the music speak to me. If there’s a track first, then I just let it happen. I’m inspired by the natural. I don’t go looking for inspiration.
What advice do you have for up-and-coming Gospel artists?
A: You need to make sure that this is something that God told you to do. I say that in every interview because it’s very important. Always be personable. So many opportunities have been awarded to me because I was nice to someone. It doesn’t hurt to be nice. It feels better to be nice.
For more information on Amber Bullock, follow her on Twitter at @singamber.
To see the rest of the interview please go to http://www.ascap.com/Playback/2012/07/action/on-the-come-up-july
