After two platinum albums (Ghetto Love and 2002’s Still Ghetto) and two gold (2006’s Ghetto Classics, 2007’s The Makings of a Man), Jaheim is still delivering sucker punches. His latest single “Finding My Way Back,” a dusty, heartfelt track that sounds like it was plucked off an early ‘70s soul compilation, is becoming an omnipresent radio fixture. Even after some very public stumbles (he has dealt with some legal issues—2004 and 2010 arrests for drug possession) on his new album Another Round, Jaheim proves that there are more surprises to come.
You have a grown man’s, soulful throwback voice, which seems to be sorely lacking in R&B today. Do you feel pressure from the industry to switch it up in this dance-first-ask-questions-later Auto-Tune era?
At this point in my career, it’s not about what the music industry wants. It’s about what I want. My legacy started the day I stepped out. I stand strong in my positioning. I’ve been in it over 10 years. Not to be conceited, but while I love a lot of stuff out there, I feel as though my style is unique. It’s a technique to it. It’s a pinch of this and a pinch of that that makes my sound.
