R&B music has been missing the sensual and soulful sounds of singer/songwriter Avant, but the wait is over for his anticipated return. We are excited to announce, the R&B heart-throb is back! After taking some time away from the music scene, Avant has returned with his eighth album entitled “The VIII,” due September 25. Rebel Lifestyle spoke with Avant, exploring his love for R&B and the journey to creating his new album. He cites this album to be a creative effort of love stories, combined with 15 years of experience and “good” R&B music. Avant states, “In this album I’m giving you guys what you are used to with Avant, but the 2015 version of Avant, has a fresh story; also, it has a different style “lyrically.” I didn’t drift too far away from what my fans are used to hearing.”
Avant is best known for providing love ballads in the early 2000’s. A long list of hits such as, “Read Your Mind“; “My First Love” (featuring Keke Wyatt), and “Don’t Say No, Just Say Yes”, to name a few. Those love ballads told stories a lot of us could relate to and still relate to today; the kind of music that leaves a presence. His new single, “Special,” is a smooth ballad, expressing the love for his most irreplaceable treasure, his dream come true, considerably his one and only lady. Avant sings,
“You’re like a diamond in a cave that’s never been seen
And you’re the most beautiful place I go to when I dream (When I dream)
And if the world turned on you I would be there to pull you through
Cause can’t nobody ever take your place (Yeaaah)”
As you can see “lyrically,” Avant has not changed. He still has a way with words and definitely knows how to tell a love story. According to Avant, “R&B music should have its own heart and breathing mechanism; it is essential to keep it alive.”
Speaking with Avant, we could see that he has a genuine love for R&B music. Meanwhile, he is definitely determined to get back to “real” R&B music. During that process, Avant believes that staying true to yourself is the key to producing good music.
“You have to be true to yourself. I would rather go down saying I was being true to myself and music, than to go down saying, I wasn’t true to what I love and damn I knew that wasn’t going to work.”
So Avant fans, you will not be disappointed; this album will be a classic. In the meantime, expect a major tour sometime after the album is released. So keep your eyes and ears open, Avant is back!