After 15 years into his career, R&B veteran and 7 time Grammy nominee Joe, finally seems to be free.  Sure he always seemed smooth, laid-back, and cool without a care in the world but there was trouble in Shangri-la.  The cracks started to show when he filed suit against his record label, Jive, and eventually won.  Then earlier this year Joe confirmed rumors that R. Kelly was trying to sabotage his career and curtail Joe's radio promotions and sales. 

Throughout it all, Joe seems to have found a new purpose, a new energy, and new inspiration for his independent label debut, New Man.

Sixshot spoke with the crooner about becoming a better man, the responsibility of caring for his family, why he had to leave Jive, the allegations that R. Kelly tried to sabotage his career, his exciting business ventures, and more. 

Sixshot.com:  Going off of the album title tell me how have you changes as a man over the past couple of years?

Joe:  I've grown as a CEO.  I own my own company and I'm signed to my own label.  I hooked up with the Kedar Entertainment Group and we're partners.  They get 18% and we get the rest.  So it moved me from making barely a dol lar a record to two dollars and that's growth in itself. 

Sixshot.com:  Personally, how have you changed as a man?

Joe:  I'm just more responsible.  Taking on more responsibilities makes me more reserved.  I have grown more mature.  I guess you can say that grown man thing is something that's happened to me.  My whole wardrobe has changed.  For the most part I'm a tuck in shirt guy now with hard bottoms.  so definitely I've learned so much being around Kedar for 12 years.  We work straight off of  a handshake so that part is the same, but I'm more of a business man.

Sixshot.com:  You said you are more reserved.  Are you more reserved in your personal or professional life or both? 

Joe:  I'm taking more time to sit back and take my time in doing things.  I'm really being more detailed.  I think reserved might not be the correct word.  I'm a beast and I'm an animal when it comes to work.  I think the reservation is when I'm certain places and I need to be learning something.  Then I can be more reserved and let Kedar do the talking and I step back more.

Sixshot.com:  What things are you still working on as a man?

Joe:  Just bettering myself—how I treat and talk to people.  I think that's in everything-- trying to build more things as an entrepreneur for my family.  I'm in a position where I have to be the responsible one and take care of everything.  That's good cause it sort of pushes you cause I know it will take much more.  That's part of my driving force.

Sixshot.com:  You mentioned needing to take care of family.  Does that ever begin to feel like a burden?

Joe:  You know there are times when I'm like wow, I wonder if my brother was the biggest lawyer or one of my other brothers was a super doctor or something—even though they are successful in their own way, but if they took it to the next step and the next extreme.  I take the time out to hone in on my skills.  So if they were big doctors or something it would be easier on the whole family.  I got 2 brothers and 3 sisters and we're all grown.  Most of us are over 30.  I'm 35.

Sixshot.com:  You talked about label changes.  Some people are afraid of change.  So how did you handle change

Joe:  Oh, no I was ready.  I've been ready and its been brewing for a few years now.  I really needed to make a decision at some point but I had no time.  So when we won that lawsuit everything started moving immediately.  So my motivations is now to get it.  I'm getting ready to get it.

Sixshot.com:  You mentioned leaving Jive and that the trigger was the monetary factor since you only got like a dollar or something on a record.  Financially, how were you trapped and how is this different?

Joe:  Well you gotta pay everything back and major labels and producers will charge labels as much as they can.  Let's say if I wanted to do a song with Busta or Diddy they would charge the full price.  Now that they know I'm independent they basically doing it for free and the producers are not charging $75,000 to do a track.  They charge me basically ten grand.  So I'm getting everything for a steal and that's the incredible thing about being independent; more people are gonna look out for you.  That's especially true if you've been a good person throughout your career, never disrespected anybody, and stayed in your lane.

People say "He ain't trying to stop nobody from getting theirs."  That comment about R. Kelly—that was hitting me at the moment.  I said, "Cool that's how it was then this is how I feel about it."  It was an alleged statement.  I don't know if he actually did that or not but I take the person who told me word with the benefit of the doubt.  He knows him very well and the people who do know him said this is his character.  So it goes back to I'm glad that I'm doing my own thing.  I'm glad I'm independent and that everything worked out the way it did.  He's not the reason I'm not with Jive.

Sixshot.com:  So basically you didn't put that story about R. Kelly out there. Someone put a bug in your ear about him sabotaging your career.  Is that someone who told you this close to R. Kelly?

Joe:  It's someone that's very tight in the industry and highly respected in the industry--a PD for a major network.  I can't mention the name.

Sixshot.com:  Have you heard from R. Kelly regarding these allegations?

Joe:  No, I don't think we're gonna talk about that.  I recorded songs, "More and More," and he recorded it too.  The label knew but I didn't and then they released it to radio.  I get a call from my people that it sounds very familiar and that it's R. Kelly's song.  They said this is the same exact song.  It was a little too far into the promotion stage so I had to run with it.  So the fans got my version and loved it and got his and loved it.  They preferred mine so now it's my song.

Sixshot.com:  When you spoke about that it was surprising because shady things happen in the industry but artists usually sugarcoat it or refuse to name names but you didn't do that.

Joe:  I'm not scared of him.  A lot of people are scared of him and afraid that he may come back and retaliate.  For me I have no fears.  I have no worries of retaliation.  I'm actually looking forward to one if it did come.  For him to come at me in any way at this point would be a huge mistake on his part.

Sixshot.com:  Was it a publicity stunt putting that out there?

Joe:  Well the only reason I put it out there is because I was approached with it while at the radio station.  So I had to speak upon that and I couldn't believe something like that would happen to me, especially after all the years I was there and me staying in my own lane and not trying to stop anyone's career.  So if this is true you be the judge for yourself.  I'm not someone to stop someone's career.  I have no reason to.  I haven't been living in the shadows but from time to time I hear you're so underrated and deserve so much more almost everyday.

Sixshot.com:  If these allegations are true why do you think he might have gone after you?

Joe:  I'm sure he's a little fearful of what I'm capable of or me taking his spot.  This guy fought with the best back in the day too with Guy when he first started.  So it kind of goes back to the whole thing—everybody has their sort of rival.  I guess I'm his motivation to keep doing what he does 'cause I'm on his tail.

Sixshot.com:  On some level that must make your ego feel kind of good.

Joe:  It's good but you know what it's giving credit to him at the same time.  He's talented and I respect what he does.  I look at him as a very talented guy and that's not to take anything from that I do.

Sixshot.com:  You have a song with Trey Songz and Mario on the album.  There's a quote where you basically said that there's not too many driven R&B artists and that the game was pretty much dead.  So why collaborate now and why those two?

Joe:  I feel now is a good time cause really it hasn't been done as much and for those two they represent R&B for the new generation.  It's not just those two but I definitely shout out to the ones that embrace me and they embraced me.  They said I was an inspiration to the young guys in music.  So I look at that as us working together shouldn't be no problem—the way hip-hop gets their boys and do 4 or 5differnt features on one record.  So I wanted to bring that collaboration into R&B.  So you may see a lot more R&B male artists collaborating.

Sixshot.com:  How is this album a step forward sonically?

Joe:  It's the new millennium, the new thing, the new wave, keeping it consistent and relevant to today's music.  I'm making sure it relates to my market and my demographic as well as the new generation and keeping it moving.  It's all about the song at the end of the day.  Some people only listen to the track sometimes so the track has to be banging at the same time.  On February 10th, I'm gonna release another record and it's called Joe Signature.  I'm gonna take it back to the old-school and to my old style of writing and producing.  That's the good thing about being independent—you do what the hell you want.

Sixshot.com:  What else you have in the works?

Joe:  Actually I have a piece of this wine which is Korus wine and it's from France.  Kedar and John Sebastian are the premier owners of the wine and they gave me a piece of the company.  I'm a wine connoisseur myself so these are some of the things we do on the business side.  I put the clothing line  on hold.  I'm also opening franchises like Ruby Tuesday's down south in Georgia.  So we work hard everyday.  Even though you don't hear from us or see us at times that's when we're sitting around brainstorming and we're gonna keep it going. I got some smart people behind me—college graduates, lawyers, and Kedar is a lawyer himself.  So it's good to have smart people around here and driven folks just as you are.

Sixshot.com:  With so much going on what does Joe do on a night in?

Joe:  I sit back, turn on CNN, roll up a nice fat blunt, and relax.  For me it's really about chilling.  I don't have a shorty right now so I'll call a friend watch some movies.  I like chilling at home.  We travel so much that I can't stand the airport--back and forth through security.  So I like being at home.

For more information please visit:

www.myspace.com/officialjoemusic