Roy Hamilton III: Heir To The Throne…

December 7th, 2009

There aren’t a lot of people that boast about working directly with Michael Jackson when it comes to a musical standpoint, but Roy Hamilton III happens to be someone who can.

Plus for good measure, you’re always free to check his resume, and you’ll find his production credits attached to other names like R. Kelly (most recently ‘Number One’ feat. Keri Hilson), Joe, Britney Spears, N’Sync, Nas, and plenty others.

The grandson of R&B great Roy Hamilton Sr., the man who shares the same name has made waves in the music industry to say the least, and now he’s opening another chapter by channeling all of his energy into himself, as he embarks on a career as a solo artist.

With his song ‘The Invisible Man’ spinning its way across radio, his MA-Day III Micro MixtapeThe Last Monarch/The MA-Day in circulation, and his debut album slated for an 2011 release, the man who also once held the Director Of A&R position at Capitol Records is shaping out to be quite a big deal.

So if you’re not familiar with him, now is your chance to catch up.

While everybody else is putting out the standardized mixtape, you’re doing something a little different called “micro mixtapes.” What exactly is a micro mixtape?

Roy Hamilton III: I think people have been putting out those long-winded mixtapes with boring records, and it has a bunch of garbage on it… I feel like people should get the message, and put their best foot forward, and put your best tune out there…

So the “micro mixtape” is something that I’m taking the James Bond kind of aspect to the mixtape, and I collaborated with DJ Whoo Kid and DJ Do It All, and we basically put together a lot of fun and exciting up tempo dance music…

We decided to move my The Last Monarch/The MA-Day album to May 3^rd, 2011… So we’re going to spend this whole entire year with me putting out singles, and buzzing micro mixtapes… We’re just going to go out there and rock the crowd one fan at a time…

When it came to your micro mixtapes, and your album The Last Monarch/The MA-Day, did you handle all the production yourself, or did you collaborate with others as well?

Roy Hamilton III: I’m the main producer, but I did collaborate with others too… I typically do all the writing myself, but I love to collaborate with other musicians and creative people that have their own vibe and their own feel…

So now, with you taking the artist route, is there any one you love more when it comes to being an artist or producer? Or would you say that they’re hand-in-hand?

Roy Hamilton III: For a long time, for about ten years now, I’ve been behind the scenes… I’ve grown to be very comfortable in that element of never being in front of the cameras, and never really having to be around too many people…

But in time, like over the last several months, I got really comfortable being that way, since I’ve been in constant photo shoots… So now I’m really comfortable with it, and I’m learning a lot…

Speaking of you being behind the scenes for so long, why now? Why did you finally decide that now is the time to be on the other side of the business?

Roy Hamilton III: I wanted to start my own record label, so I went out to a couple of distributors, but no one was giving me the type of situation that I wanted…

I felt like it was time for a format change, and all these executives know me, because I was the Director Of A&R at Capitol Records, and I was the youngest black executive in the EMI system in history…

So when I was telling them that it was time for a change, they were looking at me like I was some crazy revolutionary [Laughing]… So I realized that if I wanted to do this, I’m going to have to be the person that breaks the format…

So I really believe that I’m going to be one of those artists that help to change the game, while giving up-and-coming artists a new platform and a new medium to deliver their music…

First and foremost, everyone knows “Roy Hamilton III” as a music producer and a songwriter, so do you think it will be a tough sell with people now that you are an artist?

Roy Hamilton III: Well, there’s a billion people on the planet that don’t know me, so that’s in my favor… Maybe the 50,000 record label people I know that don’t buy records anyways; I’m not concerned with impressing them, that’s another thing I have in my favor…

The other great thing about me is that I’m an entrepreneur, so I’m not even going to these labels asking for approval, or asking them to sign me, because I’m going to the people; like I’ve always done…

I’m just trying to embrace the people, and give them my all… That’s who makes stars anyways, labels don’t make stars, the fans do; the people do…

I also wanted to touch on your longstanding working relationship with R. Kelly… What kind of things have you learned from working with someone of his caliber?

Roy Hamilton III: I learned that as an artist, you have to give it 110%. I remember I used to watch R. Kelly being in the studio for long hours, just working all night long… I got brought to him when I was really young…

I was 17-years-old, and I would go into the studio around 10 O’clock at night, and I would come out like around 7-8 O’clock in the morning from working in the studio all night… He was always a person that had great vision, and he was always doing things his way, and I watched him…

He was a risk taker and always took a chance on his music, and his fans loved him… Even when he had his troubles, his fans still supported him, because we’re all human, and we all make mistakes…

Talk a little bit about your Royality TV concept…

Roy Hamilton III: I’m all about innovation man, [Laughs]… I’m always thinking about what’s next… I noticed a serious decline in reality TV, and that’ because it’s not real… 7-8 years ago it was, but now it’s completely scripted, and fabricated…

So with Royality TV, every moment is real… I never had a script, and nothing has been planned… Every moment is from the heart, and it just so happens that a lot of natural things were caught on tape… I just want to reintroduce the realness back to the game…

In the midst of you recording your own material, are you still working with other artists as well?

Roy Hamilton III: Yeah, but I haven’t had a lot of time… I’ve pretty much worked with everybody, and Michael Jackson is someone I had to honor to work with personally…

So once I worked with Mike, I was like, “Okay, that’s it!” [Laughs]… I worked with Mike, and he’s the all-time greatest of my generation… So now I just feel like all my energy should be focused on making this a reality for me…

So in other words: You’re saving all the good stuff for yourself? [Laughs]…

Roy Hamilton III: [Laughing]… Yeah man… For the first time in my life I get to be selfish, and do what “Roy Hamilton” wants to do for a while… So it feels good…

Okay, so your grandfather is the legendary Roy Hamilton, your dad, [Roy Hamilton Jr.] is the godson of B.B. King, and now you’re making your way… So did you ever feel like you had big shoes to fill coming from such a historical lineage?

Roy Hamilton III: No because when I first got into this game, I got in without ever dropping my grandfather’s name… He was a great man in his time, and he left a great legacy, and there were a lot of industry execs who knew my grandfather that I could’ve ran to for help, but I chose not to go that route…

I was in Atlantic City when R. Kelly was playing for this semi-pro team and he saw something in me that made him give me a shot…

So I’ve been earning everything on my own merit, and now that my grandfather got inducted into the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame, and they’re looking at inducting him into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, the dots are going to connect now…

But not because I’m trying to do what my grandfather did, because I’m getting it honest… I’m earning my stripes myself…