Kelly Rowland is gracing the cover of the August/September VIBE issue, and the contents inside may have people in an up-roar! Actually, I’m lying, it’s the same ol’ thing of her relationship with Papa Knowles, getting dropped directly after he left Columbia Records and more. One thing I did appreciate was how honest she was discussing the commercial failure of her sophomore release.
Catch a few excerpts and more after the jump
VIBE: One of your first solo looks was “Dilemma” with Nelly. That song was huge. Were you prepared for that level of success without the group?
KELLY ROWLAND: No, I really wasn’t. And I was the first one from the group to have that level of success outside of the group. That bugged me out. I was very… I wasn’t ready.The song blew up and Columbia decided to rush out your solo record.Yeah. The plan was for Beyoncé to drop a solo record fi rst. But with the success of the song, they decided to put my album out first. They gave me 90 days to do an entire record.
The album didn’t do well in the States. It did better overseas, particularly in Europe. Do you feel more appreciated in Europe?
No, not really. People still compare me to B over there. I said in an interview recently, “You know, if you guys would be a little bit more intelligent and ask me about myself we’ll have a much better interview.” You can’t want a story from me and keep asking me about the past.The main reason why people don’t believe that is because of Mathew Knowles. He was your manager. And he was a father figure to you. And you got rid of him as your manager. There had to be some tension there.
No. It was just a feeling of growing and wanting to call my own shots. That was it. I thank Mathew for everything he’s done for me. He made me a millionaire at 18 years old. And then I felt like, “Well, I’m an adult now and I want to do things this way.”
Was it more difficult because you lived with him since you were a kid?
Yeah, it was more diffi cult. But I needed to be selfish for a minute. I had to reclaim my power.
Did he try to talk you out of it?
Well… He just wanted me to be certain of my decision.
Do you think what happened with Columbia was connected? You left Mathew and a few months later you were dropped by Columbia Records.
I can’t speak on what I don’t know. I will say that it all worked out in the end. I have nothing to complain about.
When you walked away from that last meeting with Mathew, did you feel an “exhale” moment?
I did, but I also felt like, Oh my God, what have I done?! I stayed in the house for two days. I was sad. It was like a funeral. I had to deaden that situation in order to start fresh. That’s a very long time to have the same manager and the same label.
What about your personal relationship with Mathew Knowles. Do you still talk to him?
Mathew sent me flowers for my birthday!
But do you talk to him?
It’s… I respect him above anything.
Hmmm… So things are cool?
Like I said, this man made me a millionaire at the age of 18. Taught us how to make money in the industry. I can never, ever forget that.
Read the interview in its entirety here.
