|
Biography
 In the world of R&B, romance is dead. Listening to the radio and watching
videos will convince even the most rose-colored dreamers that true love has
been replaced by the lustful pursuit of interchangeable sex partners who are
wooed by fancy clothes, liquor and glittering jewelry, then tossed aside
like old garbage. Luckily, there are still singers like Avant who are
brave enough to defy conventional thought and resurrect the spirit of
romance. For his fourth album, Director, the velvet voiced singer and
songwriter returns with a disc full of moving melodies and a mission to rep
for the real men who aren’t afraid to embrace their emotions and love a
woman fully and freely. “I think we’ve lost the chivalry in relationships,”
says Avant. “Our lifestyles and music have changed and that makes it hard
for some men to understand what a woman really needs.”
Avant, a Cleveland Ohio native who still lives in his hometown, learned how
to appreciate and admire the strength and resilience of women who are
mothers, sisters and lovers from the most important woman in his life, his
mother. “One of the most valuable things my mother taught me is that you can
love someone and not expect anything back.” As the youngest son in a family
of six, he watched his mom sacrifice mightily to provide the best for her
children. Money might have been tight, but her affection never faltered.
She encouraged Avant to develop his musical gifts and played classic R&B
artists like Smokey Robinson, The Supremes and Marvin Gaye who later
influenced his creative direction.
Avant loved the great ones, but to him, his uncle, the late Andrew Pittman
was the ultimate performer. “My uncle was the inspiration for me to be in
the music game doing what I do,” he says simply. “I would watch him perform
with his group when I was 5 years old and I wanted to be like him.” Avant’s
uncle never made it in the record business, but Pittman’s experience played
a huge part in teaching Avant valuable lessons about discipline and hard
work.
At 14, an age when most teen boys are preoccupied with sports, video games
and girls, Avant began penning his own songs. “I started writing songs when
I realized the different ways a person can approach love. I had just begun
to understand what love is, and I wanted people to hear my voice and see my
vision as an artist.” Avant honed both his vision and his voice at the
Cleveland School of the Arts, where he learned to integrate his smooth
tenor, songwriting ability and dramatic flair into a sultry stage persona.
Avant entered and won innumerable talent shows, but unfortunately, Cleveland
just couldn’t provide any professional outlets for his budding talent.
After graduation, Avant worked a few factory jobs holding fast to his dreams
of music industry success. “I would sometimes get discouraged,” he admits.
“But, I recognized that this was a stepping stone to the next phase in my
life.” Avant continued to make music, using downtime at work to write
material and a friend’s studio to record after hours. “I had a bunch of
sleepless nights,” laughs Avant, who would often bring a change of clothes
and head directly back to work.
His big break came in 1998 when Avant made his professional debut with the
independent release of his first single “Separated”. Radio embraced the
song and the resulting buzz helped the singer land a deal at the now defunct
label, Magic Johnson Music. His debut album, My Thoughts, sold over a
million copies and garnered the singer legions of devoted fans. His
subsequent releases Ecstasy and Private Room were also well received,
earning gold plaques, but his career has not been without its share of
controversy. The singer had to contend with critical backlash that much of his style was
borrowed from other crooners. And though his music was unquestionably well
received, even the singer acknowledges that his distinctive musical gifts
weren’t always showcased in his earlier material. This time around, Avant
assumed more control over his sound and the key people supporting him. He
signed with new management and collaborated with a bunch of A-list producers
like Jermaine Dupri and Rodney Jerkins to take his sound to the next level.
The result is a fourth album that is his best to date, a replete with dreamy
ballads detailing the different stages of love. Instead of adhering to a
cookie cutter soul formula, Avant pours his heart into Director, an album
titled to celebrate his creative control. His lead single “You Know What”
is a saucy mid tempo cut featuring Lil’ Wayne that skillfully captures the
heat-filled first words of a man approaching a sexy female spotted from
across the room. Avant’s lyrics create rich visual images that place the
listener in the middle of an emotional whirling vortex.
In “4 minutes”, an emotionally powerful slow jam describing a man’s attempt
to mend a broken relationship, the singer’s desperation and grim realization
that the best thing that ever happened to him is about to walk out of his
life forever are tantalizingly present in the lyrics and underscored by a
haunting echo and the soft clock ticking. Avant isn’t afraid to get real
and describe scenarios without happy endings. In “Right Place, Wrong Time,”
when he sings “Someone else is filling my shoes/but I’m not mad at you/’
cause I wasn’t there/now he’s taking my place,” he assumes responsibility
for the break-up and acknowledges his ex-lover’s right to move on. The
sinuous bassline of “Mr. Dream” charms listeners and compliment Avant’s
lyrics, which seductively chastise a woman for chasing an elusive Casanova
and ignoring his very real affections, while the lush melodies of
“Imagination” reinforce his promise to fulfill all fantasies.
Avant’s Director proclaims a grown and sexy love between consenting adults
that is both uplifting and mutually satisfying. It’s obvious that Avant
knows how to treat a woman and now he wants to share his knowledge with the
fellas. “I try to talk about things that guys need when smoothing over the
situations that arise in relationships,” Avant reveals. “Sometimes, guys do
crazy things, but deep down they know that if they have the right woman,
they should try to please her.” With his latest release, Avant has the
experience and accolades for the job as Director and most importantly the
power of his magical soothing vocal and lyrical abilities to put the love
back into lovemaking.
=====
Click
Here to view Avant photos
|
|
