Independent R&B pioneer Eric Roberson continues to fearlessly chart his own course, proving that a decades-long career can still be defined by the thrill of discovery. In this exclusive YouKnowIGotSoul interview, Roberson sits down to discuss the creation of his new album and accompanying book, Beautifully All Over the Place. He opens up about how his artistic process served as a vital healing tool during a challenging family period and explains the deep faith required to constantly release new music on his own terms.
YouKnowIGotSoul: I feel like you’re still not at your peak. Like your movement keeps getting bigger, which to me, after so long, to sit back and watch is so admirable because a lot of artists, they peak and then they fade out after a short time. You’re still building, which I just love to see it because it’s still well-deserved. Man, how are you able to keep this movement going?
Eric Roberson: I think just still being excited. You know, I think, you know, things change enough. I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten it figured out. So, you know, I think the art of discovery is probably just as much as important as the art of creativity. I’m always discovering new things. So, I’m excited about it, right? I never, you know, never really stop and think about whether something’s going to be successful or not. It’s more about, you know, just getting it done. It’s funny. We were in the studio yesterday and we’re working on the audio book for the book I just released. And some of the music under it was a song called “Doubt” that I released sometime last year, if not the year before. And it was a complete miss. Like it, it didn’t, it didn’t really garner any real attention, but the song had ministered to me as well as like Brett in the studio and our circle so much that it already won. It already did his job. It was more like, okay, well, let’s just share it with the world now. And I think that’s, that’s a perfect example of, and we’ve talked about that yesterday when we heard the songs like, oh golly, man, this song, I love this song. We were like, man, it didn’t do anything when we released it to the world, but it gave me so much satisfaction and clarity personally. So, you know, I recently said something, I was like, Hey, you make a living on what works. You don’t take personal, what doesn’t. And the crazy thing is stuff that doesn’t work still can like, sometimes it’s just for the day I created it, you know, to get me through a storm or whatever. So every piece of things I’m working on, whether I’m drawing something, writing something, producing something, it’s just another level of discovery that might lead to a hit song that might lead to another book, might lead to a conversation with you. I don’t really get too lost in trying to judge it before I do it. I just love doing it, man. So I think you, yeah, you probably witnessed me still in discovery mode.
YouKnowIGotSoul: It’s just great to watch your creativity and not just that, but moving in your own direction fearlessly just because no one else is doing it. So how are you able to just be so fearless like that?
Eric Roberson: Faith, you know, I think it’s really, not even to get super religious, but I, you know, I think a lot of what I talk about the book, we’ve been doing these improv shows lately. When we get on stage is completely just with nothing. And we gotta keep your attention for two hours. How do we do it? I lean on you. I show you the, Hey, you’re in this with me and I’m going to have a conversation with you musically. And we’re going to find the night out, whether it’s laughs or whether it’s crying, whether it’s serious, whether somebody just got over cancer, somebody dealing with a bad child at home, whatever it is, we’re going to find it and we’re going to make this beautiful night. So what is that? It’s my personal belief that it already exists truly. It’s, and that’s the faith part. It’s like, I believe that my purpose is already laid out for me. It’s just my job to follow it. I believe the songs already written. It’s just my job to find it. The words already exist. The melodies already exist. The notes already here. We’re not, I don’t, I don’t know a person yet that’s created a new note yet. You know, like the notes have been here, right? The air we breathe has been here. The water we drink has been here. So it’s my goal to find it success or failure is my goal to find it.
And I think that’s really, that’s really it. It’s not me trying to be a hard nose, like where everybody’s going that way. I’m going this way. It’s really, I get nudged. I get a feeling, I get goosebumps, the hair on my back, my neck raises up and I go, Oh, that’s what I’m supposed to be doing. And I do it, you know? And, and I tell you through time, you know, I’ve been in this business since 1994 and a lot hasn’t went right. So of course a lot went right, but a lot hasn’t went right. And out of the things that haven’t went right, I have more than likely nine times out of 10 gotten better because of it not working out. My team has gotten stronger. My voice has gotten stronger. My writing has gotten better. So once you know that I’m not so worried about the roof caving in on me, you know what I’m saying? I try to do right by others. I try to be fair. I try to be transparent, try to be honest. And, and I try to stay away from bad energy. You know what I mean? And even bad energy is, man, why you doing that? You can’t do that. I don’t need to be around you. I don’t believe it. You can’t do it. Like even if I’m doing it just for my own personal enjoyment, I’ll do it. Right. Like, you know, some things are for the world. Some things are just for this moment. And I think, but that’s to me, the faith. And I find so many respectfully, I say this, and that’s always a tough statement because usually the next day comes out, I was not respectful. But I find a lot of my peers at times will be hesitant to practice the faith that we normally talk about, but it’s a practice, right? It’s like every time you walk on stage, it’s a, it’s a step out in faith. Every time you put out a post or article, it’s a step out on faith. So why not follow it? Why not trust it? Like trust that it’s all written out for you, you know? And that’s really, I mean, what made us do the improv show or made me do another album or do Earth, Wind & Fire because I had an idea. I had a challenge. I wanted to stay fresh. Like, what if we made a record? We made those records. I think I gave myself three months each record and we released them like right as soon as I finished Earth, I went straight to Wind.. So I finished when I went straight to Fire, you know? And cause it was a challenge. It was a challenge to see if we could do it and stay on subject and stay on task. I still do that today. Like if something, if I woke up tomorrow and it told me to make a complete left turn and try something else new, I would, I would probably do it. Cause I know my family would still be ok. We’ll be able to work it out.
My wife would support it, you know, and the staff will be behind it because they’ve seen me do it a million times before. Like, I know we’re about to do that, but let’s do this. Okay. All right. Let’s try it. You know, I know he just put an album out, but I have another one I’m about to put out. Okay. All right. Let’s do it. So I appreciate, my wife tolerating. I think that’s the most important, she’s a cheerleader to some degree, but she’s, she’s a master tolerator. Yeah. Go work on it. Go, go figure it out. Okay. I’ll be back. You know, I come back with, it’s kind of figured out sometimes. I love it.
YouKnowIGotSoul: And I’m sure it was a challenge for you to, you became an author in recent years. You’re on your second book now. Talk a bit about the new book you have out and preview it for those who haven’t had a chance to check it out yet.
Eric Roberson: So “Beautifully All Over The Place” started… First off, I believe that I’m going to put out a book out with every album going forward. I can’t guarantee that, but I really feel like that because when I go into writing, not even when I go into writing, cause I never really sit down and write albums. I kind of work on music and then, you know, there’s a synergy that starts to happen. And it kind of tells you that, Hey, this is an album. Like you’re, you’re, you’re connecting the dots here. And the writing from a book standpoint goes hand in hand. So “Beautifully All Over the Place” is the name of the album and the book and the album is in the book and the book is in the album. What I would tell you that that book is a tuning device. That’s probably the best way to tell you. For me, multiple angles of how I could take songwriting lessons and apply it to real life. Same way. Like my faith of stepping out there on faith comes from that. I believe the songs are already written. I have never, I won’t claim to create any of it. You know, I find it more and I worked very hard on how to put words together, how to put these notes that already exist together to kind of piece together these inspirations that are already floating out there. But in the same light, it’s the same thing. Like when my kids get off the bus, I got to find that connection and find that energy, find what key they’re in. And even in between this interview, I’m gonna go upstairs and try to tune into the key my wife is in upstairs. So like the book is really pulling from different angles that I think could be helpful. And it’s a book where I think it’s a book for non-readers and readers, right? Like you can open a book in the middle and start right there. You can use a page a day, or you can knock it out in just a sitting. So I wrote the book that, you know, my imagination pretty runs pretty crazy, right. So I wrote the book that I could get through as well. I remember Ta-Nehisi Coates, his first book, I loved it, but I had to read it out loud because I would read a page and it would be so amazing that I would find myself drifting off and I’ll wake up. I’m like, oh my God, wait, I’m still on the same page 15 minutes later. Because I didn’t dream this whole, you know, so it was like, I think that has this in this book. Like you can take a page as, you know, this chapter is spiritually all over the place. There’s artistically all over the place, intentionally all over the place, factually all over the place. And they all come from the same angle as trying to be in tune with the key of the world around you is in, in how you operate in the betterment of yourself in that way.
YouKnowIGotSoul: With every album I hear from you, it’s reminiscent of your previous work, but it never feels like stale or like the same thing we’re going to get. And I can tell you’re having fun with the creative process, which resonates through the music and makes me want to listen more. So that’s what I get from it, and it feels fresh. Talk about your creativity.
Eric Roberson: Over the years, I’ve dibble dabbled in production and I’ll play instruments and then I’ll put the instruments down. You know, when I had kids, if you look at my first albums, first several albums up to like Left, I probably produced half the music on those records. And then I started having kids and I was like, I gave it off to other producers. The pen was much faster than sitting at a keyboard. What am I trying to play? And during the pandemic, I kind of got back into production and this album was really the full commitment of like, I knocked my vocal booth’s wall down to make more room for equipment. Like really diving into chasing, not just the lyrical ideas in my head, but the musical ideas in my head. And I brought in just incredible musicians to kind of help, you know, work out these fogs in my brain. A brother named Rodney Jones, who I’ve worked with numerous records, as well as Brett Baker, who produced all of Music Fan First, where two of the main people that, you know, we just really had a great time making this music. And at the same time, the album was really, really healing. No exaggeration, over the last three years, I probably did about a hundred songs and, you know, 10 of them on this record. And we already got the next record already done, you know, like it’s called Beautifully All Over The Place 2. And it’s going to be right after this album. And the book holds all those records. So like on those really, you know, I talked about my dad. My dad got sick about three years ago and he’s doing okay now. He’s not a hundred percent, but he’s doing okay. But when he first got sick, man, it was a really tough time here in the family. He’s like the rock of the family. And we didn’t understand what was happening. We didn’t know how to get him better or what was going on. And some nights, man, only thing I could do was go in the studio and just play music. That was the only thing that really kind of got me out of this. So when you hear “Fight Through It All” on the album, that saved me, like really, like on a really, really tough day. And there’s a song called “Do Something Now”. I’m really surprised now how the response is getting, because it’s probably the first, it’s probably the song that started this whole wave. When my dad got sick, it was like first song went in the studio and did, and I did it more from an aggressive pain side. And what came out was a super inspiring song. And it was a song strictly just for me, and it’s on the album strictly just for me. But I’m realizing like when we get our streaming numbers back, it’s like, okay, people are connected to this song. You’re like, oh, I thought this would be one of the lower stream songs. And it’s actually one of the higher stream songs since the albums came out. And it just shows that people can connect to whatever I was trying to be at the time when we were making the record.
And a lot of times I would make the music I needed. And so it made a really fun record, really, really fun record. That’s really all over the place, really. It really is. And it’s different than the other records. But yet still, I appreciate the fact you said there’s a connection. But you know, I’m always interested like that. If you go through the history, and I don’t say this in a slight of any producer I ever worked with, you can almost guarantee that if I did a record with one producer, I’m probably not working with that producer on the next album. And I don’t even think it’s intentional, right? It’s not intentional. But it’s like we made something incredible. We’ll make something incredible again. But we just did that. So let me go do this now. And I think that’s why the sounds have kind of always been different. And it’s not even really even seeking them out. It’s like probably whoever called that week. You know, whoever called that week is like, hey, man, let me show you what I’m working on. And it’s like, we start getting stuff done, you know. And if I don’t call anybody, if I’m just in my misery, I’m like, I don’t know what’s going on. Then I sit here and I make it, you know. So it’s just having fun, man. Just having fun and trying to get out of the way of myself. Love that, love that.
Rapid Fire Questions:
What is the best song you’ve written for yourself?
It’ll be Lessons. I almost wanted to say another song, but it would be, I mean, Lessons is one of those, you know, I clearly had to sing it for the rest of my life. I can’t get off stage without singing it. And it’s as transparent a song as can be. And I think, you know, I think all the failures and successes in life led up to me writing that record. And like, as I’m approaching my fifties, where the world is kind of telling you, hey, you should be slowing down. I actually have my biggest record in my career.
What is the best song you’ve written for another artist?
PreviousCats. Wasn’t a single, but yet he performs it pretty consistent. PreviousCats from Musiq Soulchild. And it’s probably the record that other songwriters walk up to me and go, that’s a PreviousCats song, man. You know? And it was funny because even before I gave it to Musiq, when I first played it for people, it usually was just quiet. I didn’t get like, oh my God, this is the best song. But I think people would listen to it and they’d just kind of be like, yeah, I kind of dealt with that too. I’m guilty, you know? So that’s probably the song I’ll probably say. And such a unique record.
What is your best album?
Oh my goodness. You’ve got so many. I honestly can’t answer that. That’s like saying what’s my favorite kid, right? You know, I have favorite songs on every album. I’ll probably say my best album is probably “Beautifully All Over The Place 2” that’s about to come out. Because it’s like, what I would tell you is that even “Beautifully All Over The Place” is probably the first time I made a record where a hundred percent what I was trying to do, it came out the way I wanted it. Like there’s always a, I overproduced something. I overwrote something. I was trying to get to here, but I got here and I’m satisfied with it. You know, there’s always some of that, but like, and that’s art, right? This is the closest that I’ve like made a record and what was in my head, like really showed up on tape, you know, probably. And it took me, I mean, now mind you, is it the best work I’ve ever done? No, I can’t say that. We’ll say that, but it’s probably, that’s, if that’s probably the closest answer is like, it’s as close from here and here to here that I’ve ever had out of the 18 albums I’ve done.
What is your reaction looking back now, two decades later to “The Moon”.
Just a kid trying to figure it out. You know, I was a huge Teddy Riley fan. I was a huge Guy fan. It’s a blessing that it didn’t work out, you know, that it had the success that it had launched my career. But if it went to the levels that I was praying and dreaming that it would go, I probably wouldn’t be talking to you right now. I probably would be doing something else. I probably, or, you know, I wasn’t ready yet. I wasn’t the writer that I probably needed to be or the artist that I needed to be. I’d lived a lot of life from that time to even like the PreviousCats time or like putting Esoteric, my first album out. I lived a lot of life to, and developed a lot more. I’m 19 years old, you know, taking, taking a swing at the world, thinking I was going to be the next Usher or something like that. You know, Chris Brown before Chris Brown. And, and so it was fun, you know.
Who’s still on your priority list to have a duet with? You’ve had some great duets, but who’s still you need to work with?
My answer is always the same, Erykah Badu. So Erykah Badu is my number one, but there’s so many, there’s so many, you know, what I’ll just tell you, like really the friends of mine who are in the industry, who I just like friends, who I talk on the phone with, who I check on or check on me that we haven’t done a song yet. You know, I think, and I was about to name somebody, but there’s too many to name. So I would behave myself, but just anybody, if we’re friends and we talk all the time and I see you, and it’s all love, you know, my kids, I know your kids, but we haven’t done a song yet. That’s probably the number one on the list for me. You know what I’m saying? Like, but I’ll even say, I’m going to say one only because I know I can say this when it’s to be safe, like Kindred the Family Soul. I love them like that. They’re like two of my favorite people. Their music is incredible, but we’ve never done a song together. I don’t think we ever did a song together. It’s like, it makes no sense that we haven’t and hopefully we will.
Photo Credit: Will Downing