NJS4E: So can you tell me what the vibe like when you first joined Da Bassment?

When I got in, it was at the turning point- when things were getting good again. I got in just when the other artists who’d been with DeVante for longer had gone from being quite unhappy to really happy and that’s because the tour was just about to materialize. We were all going to be the opening acts to Jodeci, so it was a big confidence booster that musically we were progressing. But prior to that tour the mood amongst the older bassment artists was very sombre. But of course that tour lifted everyone spirits because it seemed as though everything that DeVante was developing them for was actually coming to pass. That’s why I believe I have a very unique perspective on what happened with Da Bassment situation, only because when I actually signed on, everything that was going on with Da Bassment was already full blown and in motion, so I didn’t really have the opportunity to become bitter or have a change in opinion about DeVante or the situation. The others had been with DeVante for a long time before I came along but for me personally, no sooner than I graduated from high school I was on a national tour with Da Bassment & Jodeci so I hadn’t yet witnessed or experienced the situation the other members had been in.

NJS4E: That tour must have been a great morale boost not to mention an amazing experience for all of you-sharing the stage with the biggest R&B and hip-hop acts of the time and you hadn’t yet secured deals yet?

Right! It was! That tour was the biggest tour in the US in ’95- Jodeci, Mary J, Bad Boy camp, Naughty by Nature, Luniz & Adina Howard. And we were supporting Jodeci who I kid you not were treated like gods on that tour. The fact we were running with them and because everyone had the utmost respect for those guys because they were golden- DeVante especially, we too were treated as highly important people. And it was our first performance so you can imagine how major that was. And what was fascinating was the first few dates when we performed, no one was really paying attention-they just wanted to see Jodeci. But then a quarter of the way through the tour, because we had created such a buzz and with DeVante plugging his groups the way he did, any given night we’d look up from the stage and people were not just acknowledging us but enjoying it and wearing Da Bassment t-shirts! It really was the start of something spectacular, and that was the point when connections with labels and executives started to fall into place. After that tour, once Da Bassment had created all that buzz, that was when DeVante started getting offered multi-million dollar deals for Da Bassment.

NJS4E: And that must have felt like a great achievement- finally DeVante & Da Bassment’s hard work was paying off?

Exactly. It was monumental and finally we were at the milestone we were all working towards. One thing I distinctly remember was that Motown was one of the labels that offered DeVante a multi-million dollar deal. Andre Harrell had moved from Uptown Records and just taken over at Motown and when we went to New York to visit him, he walked up to each of us and told us he thought we had something special and that he was really interested in us. He had that look in his eye-he knew that if we signed to him, we would make him the 20th century Berry Gordy. Because of course Berry Gordy did it with The Supremes, Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye right on that same record label. He was really pushing for that deal with DeVante to take place, because that would have been his major contribution to the music industry, via DeVante, an old artist of his. We also met with Jimmy Iovine at Interscope Records and EMI Records. All three record labels offered us multi million dollar recording deals.

NJS4E: So what happened? Because as we all know, sadly Da Bassment never came out with an album or signed to a major label through DeVante in the end?

Right. You see, these labels were always only interested in a select group of us- they were always only interested in Playa, Ginuwine, Sugah, Me, Virginia & Timbaland as a producer. But there were more of us. I’d always tell DeVante why don’t you get the ones they are interested in signed first and we can develop the others and feature them on our projects as well as Da Bassment’s project, before trying to get them signed again, but his mindset was fixed on signing everyone. He had good intentions- he was doing the honourable and valiant thing because he did feel obligated and responsible to each and everyone in the camp. He wanted the best for everyone in Da Bassment and didn’t want to let anyone down.

The thing is, you can’t expect labels to spend millions of dollars on artists they’re not interested in, and bearing in mind the deals were all set up to sign not only the solo albums with artists they were interested in but also a Bassment compilation album, which would have had the remaining members on anyway. I genuinely believe that had he explained the situation to the remaining artists, they would have understood and would have been on board with it for the greater good of the collective, despite not scoring a solo deal themselves- after all we were a family unit.

But DeVante wasn’t happy doing things that way and by being very much ‘it’s all or nothing’ with the labels and playing the waiting game, he ended up creating a bidding war amongst the labels. The idea was that we’d eventually go to the highest bidder. But the problem was he was taking too long to make the negotiations happen and the deals fell through. The problem that ensued was that the timing this all occurred was when everybody was increasingly getting tired of waiting for a deal. And that’s when everything started crumbling.

I think what made things worse was during that bidding war, not only were we anxious but at the same time people in his camp like his manager Rob Reeves were starting to get anxious too, and because they were involved in the deals and knew people in the industry, they started underhandedly striking deals with different executives behind DeVante’s back. And of course because artists had been waiting so long for a deal, it was an offer too good to refuse. That’s how Ginuwine’s deal got established and why he was the first to leave Da Bassment.

NJS4E: And not Missy. There’s been misrepresentation in the media of Missy being the first to leave off her own accord?

DeVante sent Missy and her group home- she wasn’t the first one to leave. I think what it honestly boiled down to was the fact that DeVante thought he had a better shot from a marketing standpoint, at putting a successful record out with Sugah than he did with Sista. At that point Sista had already had a single, they’d already had a music video out, they had a record on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack, they had a deal with Elektra at the time- so everything was already in motion, but the problem was they weren’t fitting as a group with the audience so despite all the buzz and a hot single (‘Brand Nu’), their album sales weren’t doing well. Elektra started stalling any future Sista work and then the album got withdrawn and the group were dropped from the label. That really wasn’t DeVante’s fault because it was a label thing. In the end he had to make a call after seeing that it wasn’t working the way he had hoped.

On top of all that, Missy is a phenomenal writer, a great arranger and a good singer but aside from her, only one of the other girls in Sista was a strong singer. Whereas the thing about Sugah was they were all solid singers and they hadn’t had a chance to come out yet. He had to think about it in strictly business terms and make the best decision he could commercially, based on all of that. So yeah, he sent her and her group home. A lot of people still don’t realise Missy didn’t actually leave the camp off her own accord.

NJS4E: Were you aware that was going to happen?

Nah, not at all. We used to have these regular meetings with DeVante - every Monday we’d be talking about the status of our projects and what needed to be done, that kind of thing. And there had been talk of changes that were going to be made for some time at those meetings. But no I never knew that he was dropping Sista. One day we all went along to the meeting and Sista were no longer there. That’s how we find out she wasn’t a part of Da Bassment anymore.

NJS4E: It all worked out in her favour though.

Yeah and she deserved it. I believe Missy reached out to Chad Elliott when DeVante sent them home. Chad was doing some stuff with Bad Boy & Rodney Jerkins at the time and that’s how Missy got the opportunity to get on some songs and do some song-writing. In the end it was a blessing in a disguise what happened to her. I think it’s safe to say that some of the artists, particularly the ones that were song-writing and producing, kinda felt like they were in bondage and probably were looking for the first opportunity to come along for them to leave, but because things were materialising with DeVante and labels were offering us deals, no one really wanted to make that move because they had already invested so many years into what DeVante was doing. When DeVante let her go, she left Da Bassment with her solid craft, already knowing people in Elektra, having networked with other people in the industry- she had contacts and connections to make it happen another way. So it panned out just right for her- she did the Gina Thompson ("The Things That You Do") track, then the 702 track ("Steelo") and then both her & Tim got pulled in to do the Aaliyah album.

NJS4E: So was that when Timbaland, Magoo & Ginuwine followed her out too?

Well yeah. Missy, Tim & Magoo were very good friends from the same hometown. And you have to remember that the three of them and Ginuwine had been together a part of Da Bassment longer than anybody else, so quite naturally once the door of opportunity opened for Missy, she was still plugged in to what Tim, Magoo & Ginuwine were doing. No sooner than her thing popped off, Tim & Magoo were silently establishing their progression musically with Missy. Like I said before, Ginuwine was pretty much doing the same thing but not directly with Missy. He was the first person to leave Da Bassment and Rob Reeves was silently establishing a connection with Sony/550 Music and negotiating a deal for Ginuwine, based on the song "Pony." That record was penned by Static & arranged by Smokey & Black, who as you know were Playa- it was made in the basement, for Da Bassment and was supposed to be Ginuwine’s first single off the upcoming Da Bassment compilation album. Ginuwine obviously left and signed a deal with Sony/550, based on the song "Pony," and soon after Tim & Magoo left. Tim was then pulled in to produce Ginuwine’s first album. All that stuff pretty much happened without DeVante being aware of it and from that point on DeVante just cut off any personal ties with them because the professional ones were severed in what he believed to be an unforgiveable manner.

NJS4E: And how about the remaining artists- weren’t Playa the next to sign a deal without DeVante?

Well, we were all still there to begin with- me, Playa, Sugah, Boogie (Bazaar Royale), Mr Brendal & Reebok. Now Playa, hands down were one of the most talented and vocally strong groups I have ever encountered in all of my years of being a fan and a participant of the music industry. Needless to say but that is exactly what DeVante saw in them when he first met them, and that’s what he thought all the way to the end.

One of the last major labels that were still very interested in shooting big money at DeVante and giving him a deal was Def Jam. I think by that point he knew he’d never be able to get the original Bassment crew back and he also knew Playa had established some sort of connection with Def Jam and like the others had the option to leave and because Playa did consult DeVante about signing with Def Jam, I think DeVante did the right thing and orchestrated the deal on the condition that he’d play a major role in their career and creative direction. He managed to solidify a deal for Playa with Def Jam’s subsidiary, Def Soul, and decided to keep some sort of personal and professional relationship with them, so that things would run more smoothly than the other cases-by giving them what they want but at the same time assuming creative control. DeVante was also supposed to produce some of their solo project. But the thing of it is that once the agreement was made with Def Soul and it was becoming increasingly obvious to DeVante that he would play little or no part in their career or creative direction, that’s when everything turned sour and DeVante became unhappy about it. Playa solidified a deal directly to Def Soul and not through DeVante- they had a project coming out and Timbaland was pulled in to produce that first project.

NJS4E: And that’s how the collective broke apart from DeVante. There’s been a lot of talk about why the split actually happened- some interviews with artists have claimed a falling out with DeVante. What’s your opinion on that and why the collective broke up the way it did?

It broke up over a number of reasons. People were feeling impatient and tired of waiting for something to happen with their music and as a result of that there was some resentment and disappointment towards DeVante. There were a few issues with DeVante himself- his demeanour towards people had changed in a negative manner and that impacted on the relationships he had with most people. Then there were the music industry politics- the silent deals being made behind DeVante’s back, the alliances forged in the industry and so forth. And finally the betrayal and disloyalty exhibited by some of the Bassment artists towards DeVante. There were a number of factors that featured heavily in the situation.

I can’t say it was just the one thing or one person who was to blame and I equally don’t feel DeVante was solely to blame. With regards to him specifically- I’m not gonna say he was a saint. His character transformed into something that we didn’t recognize and he did do some questionable things to quite a few different members, though not to me personally. I think that damaged some relationships. At the same time though, he had a good heart and I do genuinely believe that he loved us and wanted the best for all of us. He had dedicated a lot of time, money and energy into the Bassment project and to each of the artists. I think he expected artists to be loyal to him so the way things happened, and the way it looked it seemed to him as if they turned their backs on him and signed with other people with little respect or gratitude to him for all that he done, I think that really hurt him.

NJS4E: There are always two sides to the story. I can understand why he might have felt like that. I can also understand the frustration and the feelings of the artists and what they may have been going through. I’m sympathetic to both sides.

There are two sides and the two sides are equally relevant. DeVante did change and there were a few questionable incidents that happened. For some of the artists I think the bad outweighed the good, so the first time they got the chance to break out, they took it and didn’t look back. And they never looked back because the experience was too negative to ever consider returning to. But then at the same time, DeVante did do a lot for all of us. They wouldn’t have met the people they established their deals with, if it weren’t for him. They wouldn’t have been as developed to the degree that they were on their exit, without his tutelage and encouragement. We wouldn’t have known about the industry, up, close and personal had it not been for our encounter and our relationship with him. And what people seem to forget is that DeVante didn’t HAVE to take on the responsibility of ANY artist. He could have very well just stayed focused on himself & Jodeci but he didn’t!

He threw a large portion of his fortune behind the likes of myself, Missy, Tim, Ginuwine etc. He rented out loft apartments so we could live comfortably, he paid for us to have full access to the studio and he paid to promote us and develop us, so from his side it hurt him deeply when he experienced the betrayal and underhanded moves taking place from the people he had expected the most from. He had taken us under his wing not for his own personal gain but because he believed in us and wanted us to excel, knowing that he helped bring that to life. So when I think of what he had to go through when Da Bassment was breaking apart and in a manner that it did-mostly behind his back and without his knowledge- I can also understand how he felt. This is what I mean about there being a number of reasons why Da Bassment split-this is also why I don’t blame any particular person for the split. Collectively we were all responsible.

Special Feature: Da Bassment - Accion Pt. 4

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