Given the right setting, I think me and Jaguar Wright could be friends. She is very smart, as am I, and the way our conversation went I could tell that under different circumstances we could have some very interesting conversations. We are both married mothers of two who are pursuing careers in the entertainment industry. We touched on some things in our interview that I have never discussed in a regular interview. Education. IQ scores and much more. I even had to hold back a few of my opinions because I was afraid we would get off task with the interview and start a long discussion. It was fun. Definitely a memorable interview. She's a great person to talk to. Very real. Doesn't hold back (like I was), extremely confident. Remember you all, it's the stuff you talk about that makes the interviews great! An interview all about the project will mean nothing years later. The small talk matters!

Jaguar's sophomore album, Divorcing New 2 Marry Soul will be released this summer! The first single is titled "Free."
Visit this link to listen to the album-http://artemisrecords.liquidbuilder.com/jaguarwright

The title of the album, Divorcing Neo To Marry Soul. Can you tell me how you came up with that?
Jaguar Wright-It's another one of those epiphanies that just fell into my life. Just boom. What the title means. Neo-soul. Neo meaning new. There is nothing new about soul music. Don't believe the hype. I'm not a part of the hype, I don't believe in hype. Divorcing myself from the stigmata, embracing the history. They don't have a right to take that history from us. I don't know why but for some reason so many black artists feel the need to divorce themselves from their history and their culture and their roots. I'm not one of them people. Divorcing the garbage, marrying the real.

Right. I just told my husband I was about to interview you and he said, "Oh yeah the neo soul artist." That leads to my second question. In the past do you feel you were marketed a certain way that you didn't feel was genuine?
Jaguar Wright- Of course it wasn't genuine. I knew it wasn't genuine the second that I saw an article about the new neo soul explosion and they had my girlfriend Res in the article and she don't even sing soul music, she's an alternative rock artist. I said okay, so basically you just found a new way to put all the Nigga's together. If you're black, and you wear twists in your hair or have a head wrap on you're neo soul no matter what kind of music you make.

When you write songs do you write the lyrics and the music?
Jaguar Wright- No. I don't write the music usually. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I'll choose the chords and take it from there. But often times, I like the process. I like when the producer comes with something hot that tricks me and I go and write or I'll write a song and figure out all the notes in my head and I'll go to the producer, "look what I got," and boom it triggers them. It's a really organic process. Spontaneous. Something that's like "poof," it happens.

I know It's different because it's divorcing the hype to marry the real but will fans that enjoyed your first album notice a much different sound on this album?
Jaguar Wright- I don't think so because it's still me. It's me. Nothing has changed about me. The whole point of this record is because no matter the genre the music is coming from I made them all soul songs because the truth is anything can be a soul song. All depending on the person who is doing the vocals, all depending on the person doing the writing, everything can be a soul song and I think I achieved that on this album.

I always ask this question to other mothers because I'm an author and a journalist. How do you balance being a wife and a mother of two and your music career?
Jaguar Wright- You don't. You just do it. There is no balance. Anybody that is honest enough to admit it will tell you there is no way to balance insanity. It is absolute insanity. You wake up in the morning and there are a million things to do before you even open your eyes. If you sat down and took the time to think about it you would go back to sleep. But you don't think about it, you get up and you do. People need to eat, people need this, people call about this, you have to go to the studio, you've got this, you've got that, you just do. There's no balance. You're just a really good boss. Some day's you are a really shitty one. Sometimes you are a really good wife, some days you suck. Some day's you are an incredible mother, some days you just sit their and say I'm a bad mom. But you get up the next day and you do. Like my mother always said, "As long as you have been blessed with the opportunity to wake up the next morning it will be waiting for you."

Listen to Jaguar Wright discuss being a wife and mother

How long have you been singing professionally?
Jaguar Wright- I've been singing all my life. Aspiring since I was 12 years old. I've been working at it since I was 14, doing this solely as my only job bringing in money and as a career since 1998. 7 years?

You just mentioned you were aspiring at one time. Did you ever participate in any talent competitions or American Idol type of contests?
Jaguar Wright- No. Never.

So before you got your deal did you sing around the Philadelphia area?
Jaguar Wright-Yes. I sang everywhere. I did session works. I did hooks for every local rapper. I worked as a roadie. I worked as an intern for a woman who is a ADR for Universal Distribution who also happens to be my manager. I did some talent contests, they weren't really contests, they were showcases at industry events. Stuff like that. I never was in a contest, because I'm not going to compete with anybody. I'm not competing for anything. I'm just trying to have a career. I've been working and involved in the industry. I worked as a roadie on The Show tour, what was that 94? I've been around for a minute. I lived out of my back pack for like 4 years just toughing it. I was supposed to be hooking up with Lin Q, I remember when Big Pun was only like 195 pounds. That's how long I have been around. The first time I met Big Pun he was not that big. Actually, Fat Joe was a lot bigger than him the first time I met Big Pun. Wow! That's how far back I go. I go back so far I was going to be one of the original roster members of Gerald Levert's label he had years ago. You hear about Scott Storch, Scott Storch, I remember when Scott Storch bought his first Jaguar. I remember it was a powder blue one, I was one of the first people who saw it. He pulled up like, "Baby, look what I got?" And I drove that bitch till the wheels fell off. That's how far back I go. So it's not like I'm a kid in this. I remember Foxy Brown when she first came to Philly losing her damn mind. So it's like, I've been around for a long time. This is not some overnight fly by night thing. Most people who know me in this industry, the old school people who have been around for a minute, "I remember Jag when she was first starting out, like 12 years ago." People in this industry know me before I had my first child. He'll be twelve this year. So, yeah, it's been a minute.

At least you have the older one to help out.
Jaguar Wright-Kinda sorta. He's going through puberty. That's a whole other thing. I have an adult man, I have a pre-teen and I have a toddler that thinks he is older than everyone.

I have three and four. Boys. Your bio mentioned that your parents wanted you to pursue a more traditional career. Did you ever pursue anything other than singing?
Jaguar Wright-I was going to, but it never lasted long. This was my passion. I could have done anything I wanted to that's how smart I am.

I like your confidence.
Jaguar Wright-I'm not saying it to be smart. The first time I had my IQ done I was a girl. I tested at 132. 130 is like genius. The second time I tested it was much higher. I can do anything in this world I want to do. That is why I dropped out of school to begin with. I have a hard time taking advice and taking instruction from people who are not as smart as me. That's why I do what I do for a living. It's the only option that I have.

My IQ was 135 at one point. I don't know if it still is. I used to want to join Mensa. (okay, IQ talk, I know I know. But circa 2000 I was obsessed with getting my IQ to 140 but could never get higher than 138. Now that I have had kids, I don't think my level of concentration is great enough to try to raise my IQ…Dorrie)

Jaguar Wright-I could have easily done it. I could have done anything in this world that I wanted to do. I'm not even going to tell you what my test score was the last time I took them because it was embarrassing, it was really high.

160 or something probably.
Jaguar Wright-Yeah it was pretty high. It was higher than Einstein's.

Somewhere between writing and designing, I can't do it. I lost my desire to do it.
Jaguar Wright-You still have it. You just convinced yourself that you do. It doesn't leave you.

I think I have lost the concentration.
Jaguar Wright-You have that too. You just convinced yourself that you don't. The mind is a very powerful and wonderful thing, if given the ability to just be you can do so much more. Stop trying to convince yourself that you are less! I hate to preach.

(Okay, I had a really bad cold. Maybe I sounded down. I was really trying to humble myself. You all know I think I'm this fabulosa web diva author of 5 books and all, so I was just trying to be humble, after the IQ talk I was worried we might head into who is the smartest...Back to the interview. Dorrie)

It's just when I started writing books and stuff.... I used to be a teacher. I used to want to be so smart. Then when I switched to the creative side, it didn't really matter as much anymore. I didn't want to be so smart smart all the time. (This is true. I had to tell everyone I had a Masters degree. I was on a quest to be the smartest. High IQ, etc, but then I got to the point like, does it matter? Who really cares how smart I am? Dorrie..Back to the interview)
Jaguar Wright-Teachers. I don't really care for teachers. Teachers are assholes. They are. Except people who teach elementary school. High school teachers and college teachers are assholes.

I was a college teacher. I was a cool teacher. I couldn't last. I wanted to be friends with all of my students.
Jaguar Wright-They are. I'm going to tell you why. Because a lot of the ones in there they don't have the guts to do what they really want to do. They just want to sit up there and tell everyone else what to do and how to do it though they never had the courageous to do it. Which is what makes you fantastic because you decided to do it.

Take that leap of faith. Without that what have you got? I would be miserable with a paycheck.
(Disagreeing inside, holding back. I love education and loved being a teacher and might still teach but it's too much fun being Dorrie Williams-Wheeler best selling author and entertainment journalist. I write some educational books, so I'm giving back but have not ruled out a return to the classroom. Some people want to be teachers. Dorrie)

Jaguar Wright-You would be looking at these young kids starting out with these bright bright futures wishing it was you. And you would turn into one of those crabby drunk teachers who fails everyone because they never gave themselves the chance to grow. So look at how fantastic things are turning out for you.

A lot of the R&B songs now have guest rappers. Did anyone try to convince you with this album to have a guest rapper on any of the tracks?
Jaguar Wright- There is a bonus track with my boy Obie Trice, but this album wasn't about that. This album wasn't about guest appearances. This was about my ability to do. And to show that it can be done.

I know you had an amazing run on the Okay player tour but what else have you been doing since the last album dropped?
Jaguar Wright- Writing, developing, changing labels, changing business managers, changing lawyers, changing financial management, redeveloping, getting re-signed, getting out of my publishing deal, getting into a new one, you know nothing much. In the mean time still gigging. Still doing at least 30 shows a year.

http://www.jaguarwright.com/

Interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, and Thabiz.com 2005
Dorrie Williams-Wheeler is the author of Be My Sorority Sister Under Pressure and the Unplanned Pregnancy Book for Teens and College Students. She is the founder of Thabiz.com and Imissthe80s.com and writes for the Rap, Teen, and 1980s section at Bellaonline.com. She is an ASCAP member as a writer and a publisher. Please contact Dorrie for advertising inquiries, lyric writing inquiries, reprint rights, paying entertainment jobs, or general comments.
Visit Dorrie on the web at www.sparkledoll.com or e-mail her at webmaster@thabiz.com.

May not be reprinted, copied or distributed. You may link to this interview.
Interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, thabiz.com June 2005.