Avant has been in the music industry for 16 years. Over the course of that time, there has been a shift in the genre and many who were once prominent artists have disappeared into obscurity. Fortunately, Avant created a list of hits that have staying power and represent the genre in its truest form.
Avant visited the City Winery in Chicago recently and we took a moment to ask him a few questions.
Talk about what you have been doing for the past few years.
What I’ve been doing for the past few years is trying to keep R&B in its proper perspective. I come from the Cleveland School of Arts so I love storytelling. When I write songs, I write stories. That’s how they taught us to learn the game. I don’t understand music that much today. I love the beats, but it’s kind of boring because there is no story being told. Everybody can talk about flash and diamonds. We have to keep music alive by the stories that are told.
Talk about your relationship with Chicago
Chicago is soul. This is what Chicago is. Whoever does this music knows that this is the truth. Chicago has it all.
When you talk about real R&B, what do you mean by that?
There are all different types of R&B. You have your Marvin Gay, me. It’s the nature of telling those stories, whether it’s sad or romantic, it keeps you intrigued. I remember listening to people like Babyface and I knew he was going to give me a good record, whether he wrote it for himself or another artist. It made me want to go to the store to listen to it even before it got released. Nowadays, everything sounds the same. It’s just oversaturated.
Avant went on to give a spectacular performance following our interview. We asked Tameka Grant what she thought of the show.
“I thought the show was amazing! I’m an R&B girl and ’90s girl. The show was nostalgic and I loved it. It brought back memories of falling in love. All those great feelings came back. My favorite part of the show was the entire show. Avant is amazing; he has an amazing voice and is one of the most underrated artists out here. I keep his CD in the rotation.” she said.
Take a look at a few pics from the show below.
