I got a chance to sit down with Sunshine Anderson right before the release of her album The Sun Shines Again which is in stores now. Mostly known for her smash hit, Heard It All Before, there is more to this singer than just sassy lyrics. Her name is very fitting for she is a ray of sunshine. She reminds me of one of my cousins who doesn’t bite her tongue but is as genuine as someone who “keeps it real”. Sunshine talks about her love hate relationship with music, her 3 year hiatus and how becoming an independent artist has humbled her.
Chanel Laren: You seem to always come up with female anthems. Is that a true testament of who you are?
Sunshine Anderson: My ladies know that I’m going to stomp through the streets, kicking down the door for them. I love that. I’m going to say it exactly how it needs to be said, no holds barred. Let me give it back to you lyrically how you dish it. Let’s see can you take it then. What you see is what you get. I’m not that brash. I work very hard not to come across as so abrasive. I don’t want to be the nagging broad. My fellas approach me and say “I love your music but you be having me in the doghouse”. I say give me something to speak about and I won’t. I have a lot of girlfriends and we sit around just like this. You might get a line from me and a line or two from Keisha and Tammy. It’s all interwined.
CL: You have songs on the new album like A Warning for the Heart and Life Back…do you talk a lot about your divorce on the album?
SA: A lot of the record reflects that relationship. Not quite divorced yet, almost there. You do what comes natural first-what’s on your brain. You gotta get that out first before you can move forward. I can’t speak about butterflies and sunshine, if it aint butterflies and sunshine. Not direct jabs, but you know who I’m talking about. I wrote 3 songs on the album, Nervous, You Doing It and Life Back. Mike City and I are friends so we’d be on the phone for like an hour and a half just talking. I’d fly to California 2 months later and he’d have songs written about our conversations. I can’t deny that.
CL: Take us on a walk through your hiatus after you dropped the first album.
SA: I signed with Matthew Knowles Music World Entertainment label in 2004, my album didn’t come out until 2007. My hiatus between my first and second album was really bad. After they told me I was working with Matthew I was like “this is it, we are here, I have arrived, it’s on”. When it didn’t happen that way, I kinda felt like this is not for me. You dream about it a certain way, and when it doesn’t happen the way you dreamt it, you’re kinda thrown off. A lot of times I felt like where do I belong? Where do I fit in? I still don’t hear what you guys hear and still panicking before every show. At the time I was pregnant, so I thought I was building a family and a great life for my child and that didn’t happen so I’m felt real out of place. I was in survival mode. I got a kid to feed and I have to be the best representation for her.
After the second album came out, and nothing happened, I went to cosmetology school. I always wanted to own my own salon. I enrolled before I got the call from Matthew Knowles so now I’m here again, I’m going to school. I graduated last December and now I’ve been a licensed cosmetologist as of April of this year. I’ve been working in a salon since January. I wasn’t really tripping off of the singing thing. It’s hard to chase something that in your eyes hasn’t been really nice to you. Up until two months ago, I’ve been working in the baddest hair salon called Blendz in Atlanta.
CL: Now you’re on Unsung/VerveForecast with label mates like the legendary Herbie Hancock, Ledisi, Queen Latifah and Diana Krall. Do you feel any pressure at all?
SA: I still kinda feel like lil ole me? Are they sure? It’s hard-that’s why I get those nerves and things. It’s like you gotta live up to this. When we were in Philly the other day, they decided they wanted me to perform. I just started freaking out cuz I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t prepared for that, nobody told me. I just let go of it and go in there and give it my all. When you be gone as long as I been gone and been through what I’ve been through, sometimes you need that reassurance. It does eat at your confidence. I need somebody to see to say “you killed it”. I’m glad I have good people around me and tell me that was horrible.
CL: 2010 seems like the year of comebacks for “real sangers” ie. Faith and Keke Wyatt. What female singers do you like and admire?
SA: All of ones you named. Fantasia, Kelly Price, Faith, Monica, Tweet, (waiting for her new cd to drop) Jazmine Sullivan...that gurl is so bad. It don’t make no sense. She wrote me a record when she was 14 years old and she still sound the same. I’ve always straddled that line of superstar and fan. I’m a fan...I’m a consumer. What do you mean compete with these girls? I did a show with Faith in Augusta and she told me “I saw Mike City and I got a copy of your album. I’m going to text you and tell you what songs I like”. Like huh? That don’t even sound right. She texted me the other day like “I hope all is well”. I’m just blessed to be apart of it. That’s good enough for me.
CL: What advice do you give aspiring singers?
SA: Know your craft. Nurses go to nursing school. Cosmetologists go to cosmetology school. What school do you go to if you wanna be star? 9th Wonder was teaching a class at North Carolina Central University, showing students how to work instruments. Know your craft. Read them books, you may not know the terminology now but you’re going to come across them again. What’s going to be make you different? I didn’t think about imaging when I came out. What I’m going to look and whose going to do my hair. I didn’t think about magazines or radio. I remember the first time I did radio in Philadelphia. They slid an itinerary up under my door saying I had to be up by 5 or 6 in the morning. I just did a show last night. Are they crazy? Where they do that at?
I called Macy Gray like “these fools want me to be up at 5 in the morning”. She goes (imitating Macy) “Sunshine that’s what you do on the road”. They didn’t tell me, I didn’t know. Then I remembered when I used to drive to school in the morning I would hear Mary J. Blige doing interviews. Think about who you want to manage you. You got these people up in those executive offices and I can’t sing because of it. It’s this book out called The Yellow Pages of Rock . Go and get that book cuz it has everybody name in that book at every one of those labels and offices. who does what, their numbers and email addresses. Get yourself in order. Yea well I can sing...that’s great but he can sing and she can too. Your talent means nothing if you don’t know what to do with it.
CL: In 2000, when you first came out, artists of your caliber had more TV exposure. Now if you aren’t doing the Dougie or some silly dance or have a major record deal you won’t be on 106 & Park’s countdown. You probably will be on VH-1 Soul, but you have to have that cable provider in order to see it or listen to Pandora. What’s the record label’s plan of action to promote this album?
SA: I might be revealing some secrets here but...radio runs by payola. In my mind, that basically determines what radio station you will be played on. Now I’m on an independent label and this is how much we can afford. Unfortunately, I feel the same way. My song aint being played on mainstream radio and nobody knows my record is out. I listen to the Dougie station and I don’t hear my song. I know that I want different so I’m going to do different. I want to be open to everything. If they want us to sing, well then we going to sing.
CL: Are you doing a tour?
SA: We are doing a promotional tour right now. I’m going to be doing a major tour with Avant and some other people. Maybe El Debarge and Kem. That’s the hardest part for me, not to hear my song on the station that me and all my friends listen to. You go somewhere and you try to tell people that your record is out and they say “why it aint on the radio?” It’s hard, but we are going to keep working. The first person that comes to mind is Robin Thicke. He worked that record to death and now he’s a household name. So we are going to try to be everywhere we can be and keep working.
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