Written by Shaundrie Jones
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"You deserve everything real that comes along with the love that God has put in place for us to enjoy." ~ Tank
Tank is All About Love
He is a singer, song writer, actor but most importantly a great father. I had an awesome opportunity to sit down with Tank, Durrell Babbs, after his AMAZING performance at Bayfest, in Mobile, Alabama. I have NEVER met a man that was such a gentleman. Being that it was my first celebrity interview, I thought I would be nervous. However, Tank's spirit exudes tranquilness. His aura immediately put me at ease. We all know that he is very attractive; but, his humble personality and loving spirit makes him a truly beautiful person!
Tank recently released his fifth album in May of this year. "This is How I Feel", which has a very romantic vibe. It is full of ballads and nice mid-tempo tracks that make for a great album! With hits such as "Compliments" and "Next Breath" he is solidifying his position in the R&B game. Recently Tank, Ginuwine and Tyrese signed a contract with Atlantic Records forming a very powerful male super group, TGT. All of these men have AMAZING voices. This indeed will be something very special. With over 10 years under his belt, Tank continues to make his permanent mark in the R&B industry!
Check out the interview below!
Tank recently released his fifth album in May of this year. "This is How I Feel", which has a very romantic vibe. It is full of ballads and nice mid-tempo tracks that make for a great album! With hits such as "Compliments" and "Next Breath" he is solidifying his position in the R&B game. Recently Tank, Ginuwine and Tyrese signed a contract with Atlantic Records forming a very powerful male super group, TGT. All of these men have AMAZING voices. This indeed will be something very special. With over 10 years under his belt, Tank continues to make his permanent mark in the R&B industry!
Check out the interview below!
Shaundrie: Who is Tank? What do you want people to know about Tank?
Tank: Oh my gosh, Jesus Christ, um, Tank is ( loooooooooooooong pause) :-). Shaundrie: Did I catch you off guard? Tank: No, no you didn't catch me off guard. I just want to say...I guess I would want to call myself a - Tank is a hopeless romantic. Um, you know, I believe that everybody should be in love. I believe that everyone should find that special someone and that special thing that completes their life. You know what I mean? So, for me, musically and just even from a lifestyle stand point, that's just all it is for me. You know what I mean? Whether it is my kids, be it my mom be it--that's just what it is. It’s just a love fest, man. Being happy to be here and appreciating the time and the people that God puts around you, the gifts and talents as well. Shaundrie: That's awesome. That's awesome. What or who inspired you to do music. Now, I know that you worked with Aaliyah and she was my favorite. I loved her. Tank: In the beginning it was my cousin, Alphonzo Jiles. He went to Berkley College of Music. And he use to write songs for the choir. And he use to teach my mom and cousins all them songs up in my grand mama’s upstairs on the piano. And I use to just sit in amazement and just watch him. I was like, "Man, how is he doing that? He can sing and play the piano, drums, all the instruments". It was amazing. As a kid it was just amazing to me and I didn't understand what the feeling was. You know what I mean? I didn't know what that feeling was that I would feel every time he would play and sing certain chords he would hit and certain harmonies. It was something -- I have to have it. When he would leave, I would just sit on the piano and try to do everything that he did. So I could get that feeling. I need to sing. Let me try to sing. And I will tell you something else that inspired me that people really don't know about me...The Charlie Brown's Christmas. Shaundrie: Why? What was so special? Tank: The music on Charlie Brown's Christmas just made my life. When I hear Charlie Brown’s Christmas now, I think back to my childhood so vividly, so clear. I could hear that music from anywhere. I could hear it from a mile away and run home and just stand in front of the TV. My grandmamma would say," Get out from in front of the TV." I'd step back and just be standing there in amazement. Just listening and watching and those things just kind of started pushing me forward. As I got older, I started really diving into the Daryl Coley, Kim Burrell, Rev. John P. Kee. You know the Rev. John P. Kee is like one of my mentors...um...Commission, Fred Hammond. Shaundrie: So, gospel roots? Tank: I didn't start singing R&B until 1996. I would not touch it touch it. I was scared of it. Shaundrie: You threw me back with the Charlie Brown. I'm a big Charlie Brown fan. I think we are around the same age. What are you 34, 35? Tank: I'm 27 *said very unconvincingly* Shaundrie: Okay, Let’s just roll with that. (laughter) Shaundrie: What would you say are the challenges of the music industry? How or what do you do to overcome it?
Tank: The biggest challenge in the music industry is to keep the love and romance alive. You know what I mean? They are not slowly but surely taking it out of music; they have taken it out of music. And its only a few of us that actually still believe in it, still sing about it...um that are still willing to put our careers on the line to do it. You know what I mean? Its hanging on by a thread. But, I mean; you know, with me, Tyrese and Ginuwine, people like Joe, Carl Thomas, Avant, Music Soulchild, we're not going anywhere. You know what I mean? We are going to still continue to do it until they kick us out. So I think that with the move we made with TGT is...we need an event. We need an event for love. We need an event for romance. We need an event for relationships and that is what TGT represents. Shaundrie: Now lets talk self esteem. Girls are having acne problems and gaining weight. You have daughters. What do you tell your daughters to make sure they have high self esteem?
Tank: Listen, I tell them, "I love you. I love you and God loves you; however you are." Period. You know what I mean? Some of the things you can and want to change about yourself, you can. But, you don't have to do it for nobody. Anything you want to do; you do it for you and you be happy with it. And that's it and that's all. You can't make everybody happy. That's not the goal of all of this. You can't make everybody happy. But, there is somebody for you. Somebody to love the things that are great about you, that are awesome about you, and love the things that you don't even like about yourself. That little short pinky toe that -- Shaundrie: You looking at my feet? (laughs) (we got a little silly here) Tank: No. (laughs) That short pinky toe that you thought was so unattractive may think, "Oooh that's neat" (laughs). Its something for everybody. It's just about accepting your skin. This is what God gave me and this is what it is....and i'm going to work it!I'm going to work this skin until it falls off! Tank's This or That |
Shaundrie: Okay now you know kids can be really cruel. Bullying is really bad right now. What advice would you give your daughter if she was being bullied?
Tank: I don't think my advice is the good advice. Shaundrie: I need you to give good advice. (laughs) Tank: Lemme tell you something. Bullying didn't just start. When I was a kid, bullying didn't just start. It just became a campaign. Mom said when someone hit you, you hit them back. And, i'm not promoting violence but I am promoting confidence and self-esteem. Stand up for yourself. Believe in yourself. You're probably not going to win every fight. But if they know that you will fight, they will leave you alone. You know what I mean. I apologize before hand for my advice. Shaundrie: You are just being real. Tank: *in his daddy voice* Don't let nobody whoop on you; like you some whooping bag. Like you some--I mean i'm a Christian but, some of these people take this Christianity thing a little bit to the left. Jesus and those disciples weren't weak people walking around trying to figure out; you know-- *in his timid i'm afraid voice* "Oh no, don't bother us. Noooo. Nooo." When they came to take Jesus some ears were cut off. You know what i'm saying. These were the police, technically. When they came after Jesus; *in his bout that life voice*, "what's happening, how you want it?" Naw. Stand your ground. Shaundrie: Now here's a tricky question. Your daughter has beef at school with a chick that is a hater. The girl wants to fight your daughter. But, how do you tell your daughter to solve the problem without fighting? Tank: I definitely tell her to try an exhaust all possibilities. Shaundrie: How? Tank: As far as going to the faculty and stating what the situation is--"Listen I don't want to fight. Its not what I am here for. Can we do some type of meeting or mediation type situation." Or even tell me, "Dad, it's a problem at school. Can you come up there?" I will go talk to their parents and we can resolve it that way. Because ultimately its going to come down to the parents to control the kids. Tell your kid to leave my kid alone. My kid gonna leave your kid alone and lets learn something up here. Shaundrie: What do you do about the parents that are just as bad as the kids? Tank: You're not going to be able to help everybody. You're not going to be able to please everybody. But it goes back to my last answer, we are going to stand our ground. What's right is right. What's wrong is wrong. Eventually, the universe deals with it. It just has a way of working itself out. Shaundrie: How would you tell your daughter, they may take your player card for this, to recognize a player or someone who was not good for her?
Tank: I would just tell her. See, im'a tell you something that's crazy. It's not rocket science. Shaundrie: But you know you have some that are smooth, though. Tank: It's not like you have to look very deep or very far to understand the essence of the man that you are dealing with. You really have to listen to what a man says and then follow what he does. Do the two coincide? Just do that. *in his professor tone (he was teaching the game)* A very important factor for me, in men dealing with women, is their relationship with their mother. Like, my mother is my best friend. My mother didn't play no games. She raised me right. Then, i'm very close to my grandmother and I was very close to my great grandmother. Like all these women were very instrumental in my life. So because I had these strong, black, Christian women in my life, I was able to see first hand how a woman is suppose to be treated. How a woman is supposed to be taken care of...you know what i'm saying. And out of respect for them, that is how I treat other women. I don't want it to get back to my momma you know what i'm saying --- Shaundrie: She's coming for you? Tank: Listen, the pastor is coming to see about me. My momma-- she'll catch a flight. Shaundrie: She'll catch a flight? (laughs) Tank: WHAT!?!?! She's still putting hands on people. Grandma don't play! And so it's that accountability; we've loss that. We've loss respect for even our mothers. You hear the way some of these kids talk to their mommas. If they don't respect their mommas, they are definitely not going to respect some girlfriend or no girl around the way that they are just trying to fufill a little pleasure for the moment. Shaundrie: How would you make your daughter understand that her body is precious and not everyone deserves her time? Tank: It's really just about telling her and reinforcing it. Every day. Every moment you get. You know what I mean? That is your temple. That is a thing God gave you. Keep that sacred. You know what I mean? If not for anyone else; for yourself. I'll always give examples, " You don't want to be know as this girl. You don't want to be known as that girl." They may crack a few jokes. But at the end of the day, when they are looking for something real. When someone is looking for a real woman. A real stand up woman to do something, they are going to look for you. You know what I mean? I just promote that. Shaundrie: Lastly, is there anything you want to say to the young ladies before you leave. Speak to them as if they were your daughters. Tank: Love is not all lost. You know what I mean. In saying that you don't have to settle. You don't have to take less than what you deserve. You deserve honesty. You deserve everything real that comes alone with the love that God has put in place for us to enjoy. You deserve that and if it is anything less than that...It's not it. Its not it. Fight for it. Appreciate it. It's yours. Shaundrie: Thank you so much for taking time out to speak with us. Tank: No problem. Want more Tank??Official Website: http://www.therealtank.com/
Twitter: @therealtank Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheRealTank Buy his album: http://store.warnermusic.com/this-is-how-i-feel.html |