Anoop Desai: A down-to-earth guy reaching altitudinous goals

credit: anoopdesai.com

For those who haven’t gotten the chance to speak with independent artist and American Idol alum Anoop Desai, you’ll be glad to know he’s as down-to-earth in person (or, in my case, over the phone) as he did on American Idol. Not as if that’s a surprise; his genuine affability comes across in his music on his debut cd, All is Fair. What also comes through is his drive, determination, and, of course, his talent.

His cd is at once a complete project as well as a sampling of what is to come from him on later albums. “One of the things I was trying to do was tell a story,” he said, “I wanted to put something out that people may connect to. I may have had a meaning behind a song, but I wanted to leave it open-ended for the listener to put in their own understanding.”

The way Desai likes working is in a group. “When I’m not sure about something, I run it by a lot of people first,” he said. “I trust them musically for sure.” Some of the people he’s currently running things by are Atlanta’s Namaste Studios (the studio behind Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, Jessica Simpson, T.I. Elton John, etc.) “They’re [Namaste Studios] really cool,” Desai said. “When you walk in there, you get an idea of what you’re going for. They’re really unlike any other studio and writing team I’ve had so far; you can share your identity and ideas with people you can see eye-to-eye with. I can’t wait to work with them again.” Also working with Desai is Grammy-nominated rapper/singer/songwriter/producer Novel (who has worked with India Arie, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, Leona Lewis, etc.). “We threw some ideas around,” Desai said, “but we’ll definitely get together and write. I love incorporating the doo-wop, neo-soul feel in my music, mostly because I’ve grown up listening to  it–50′s, ’60s R&B, Sam Cooke…Novel has a keen sense of that, production-wise.” On All is Fair, Desai brought on University of North Carolina friend and fellow Clef Hanger David Mikush to help as writing partner.

If you’re a stranger to Moniqueblog, you might know about my fascination with how race and culture are exhibited in entertainment (check these posts out to see what I’m talking about), so I had to ask about Desai’s thoughts on the unique position he has in the music industry, especially the Pop/R&B genre. Just so this won’t be out of context in any fashion, here is the question I asked and his answer (both slightly abridged):

Moniqueblog: Firstly, don’t take offense to this question, but on my site I talk a lot about race relations and–well, I’ll just ask the question: so far in American specifically, there haven’t been a lot of Indian acts in R&B; there’s Jay Sean, who’s from Britain, Nicki Minaj, you, and if there are any more that I can’t think of, there’s them. How do you feel about that, because it seems like there’s a glass ceiling in music that y’all are breaking.

Desai: It’s not something I think about on stage, but it is something I think about concerning the opportunity I have… I think I have a very international appeal that is particularly unique in that situation. My advantage is that I’m Indian and am highly aware of my roots, and that I’m an American; I was born and raised in North Carolina, culturally, I’m American. I think this will help me internationally with how I’m represented… I don’t want to say people are bored, but people are looking for something unique, and I bring that musically and culturally. What I can bring to [other opportunities like endorsements, etc.] can be something very exciting, and it opens all sorts of avenues.

While he is interested in bridging his fans in America and India and other parts of Southeast Asia together through his music, make no mistake, though; Desai does not want people to judge him and his music solely by his ethnicity and cultural roots. Take, for instance, his first song on All is Fair, “My Name,” which has a solid Indian flair. ”I never want to force anything in a song, but with that song, it needed that beat,” he said. “We tried acoustic versions and other versions of it, and it just didn’t work…while it does represent my heritage, that sound’s not representative of all the types of music I want to make.”

Did Desai think he was going to be where he is a year ago? “No,” he said. “I thought I was going to be a lawyer or a professor, but once I got on Idol, I started making goals of what I wanted to do [in music]. I really believe I can deal with the best of them; if someone asks me five years from now, ‘Did you think you were going to be here?’ I’ll say ‘Yes.’”

His determination to continue on his upward slope is infectious; quite a few big-hitters in the music industry, including the aforementioned, have reached out to him to give an assist. “There are so many people in the music industry that believe in this project,” he said.

Of course, one impetus is his fanbase. Recently, he was on The Mo’Nique Show (“the other Monique,” he said, laughing); his first on-air performance since Idol. He also has been going on tour, something he said has been a great way to advertise his album and talent. But he hopes the on-air venues and tours will increase. As he works towards those goals, his message to his fans is “Here I am; I’m here for you.”

Buy Anoop Desai’s cd All is Fair from his website, anoopdesai.com. For more on Anoop, check out these posts.

Tags: all, American Idol, Anoop, culture, Desai, ethnicity, fair, Indian, is, Music, R&B, race, stardom