September 16, 2004
Hey people,
Once again, it's been a long time since I've written to y'all, so I
had to give you an update on all the exciting things that have been
going on with me.
Right now, I'm on a plane returning from a 3-day trip to London,
England. I had a great time there. Much love goes out to all my fans
in London. Y'all really made me feel welcome there. I did a sold-out
solo show at London's renowned Jazz Café. It was a beautiful night. I
think the highlight was hearing the whole crowd sing the backup vocals
for "Used to Love U". 300 people singing "Holla, holla, holla" sounded
real hot.
Anyway, I'm returning now to the Usher/Kanye tour. Next stop is
Memphis, TN. So far, the tour has been great. It's hard to beat the
feeling of hearing 10,000-20,000 people scream when they hear your
name. Thanks to Kanye & Usher for selling all those records so that I
have this opportunity. :) While on tour, I've been working really hard
to promote my new album. I've been making radio appearances everyday
to promote the single, then meeting up with Kanye & co. to rock the
Usher show, then capping the night off with solo performances at
smaller clubs. Thanks to all my fans around the country that have come
to support my solo after-shows. I've had a lot of fun with those.
The album Get Lifted is wrapping up production now. We've mixed every
song and we're going to master the whole album over the next few days.
I'm so excited to finally be done with it. I've spent so much time and
energy making this album the best it can be. Hopefully, it will not
disappoint. By the way, I've heard that there may be bootleg copies
online claiming to be my album. If you've seen these fakes, they are
NOT the complete album. Don't be fooled by the impostors.
Anyway, my first single, "Used to Love U", is working its way up the
charts and getting more and more radio play across the country. Thanks
to all the radio stations who have supported the record in this early
stage. And thanks to all of you fans who have called in to request it.
Speaking of requests, it's almost time to start calling BET to request
the "Used to Love U" video. That's right, my first video! I'm really
excited about the video, directed by Ben Mor (of Nas's "Thief's Theme"
video) with an assist and guest appearance by Kanye, who co-produced
and co-wrote "Used to Love U". We all worked together to make the
video special. It was a cool learning experience for me to be involved
in making this, from collaborating on the concept to making sure the
edit came out right. I can't wait for y'all to see it and let me know
what you think. We'll premiere it on BET's 106 & Park next week (a
joint premiere w/ Kanye's "New Workout Plan"). With MTV rotation not
too far behind. So look out for it.
One last note of clarification: y'all may have read the recent article
on me in the Vibe magazine. I was really disappointed with how I was
portrayed in the article. My words were manipulated in a way that
misrepresented my intent and I felt that it made me sound really
arrogant. Please know that this was a misrepresentation. Anyone who
knows me knows that article didn't accurately portray the way I really
am, and I don't want you who don't know me to get the wrong
impression...
Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. I think that's it for now. I
look forward to seeing y'all on the road again. Please keep supporting
my project and we'll try to take it to the top this year.
Love,
John
Thursday, September 16, 2004
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