 Amazing how time flies. There has been an eight-year gap since Chanté Moore released a solo album, the last being the 2000 set “Exposed.” Since then, the singer who first came to prominence in the early ‘90s as the first artist signed to industry executive, the late Louil Silas’s label has recorded two albums with her husband Kenny Lattimore as well as touring with him. “Love The Woman” is her latest solo venture…
DN: Because you haven’t had a record out in a while, did people wonder what happened to you?
CM: Some people might think I’ve been on hiatus but I’ve been working with Kenny. We’re very much alike musically and we’ve done two albums together. The second one, (2006’s “Covered/Uncovered”) is my favorite especially having a gospel counterpart as one of the CDs. It’s been a dream for both of us to get into that arena. I don’t have the ‘gospel’ voice so for me it was about figuring how to do gospel! It’s way more challenging than doing R&B – you have to balance performance with authenticity. For sure, I’d love to do more gospel.
DN: When did you start working on your new album?
CM: We began the process about a year ago…
DN: You worked with George Duke on the record and I know he worked with you on your first album, “Precious”…
CM: I’ve been wanting to work with George again for a while. I love his sensitivity and production-wide, he lets you be yourself and guides you. I didn’t know where I wanted to go R&B-wise with this album and he would take what was in me and bring it out. George lets me be. I like to sing a song over and over again when I’m recording so I can feel. When I felt like I’d sung all the ways I wanted to, George would say, ‘let’s focus on some areas’. I really like that…
DN: Let’s talk about a few of the songs you did with George…
CM: I did the Minnie Riperton song, “Give Me Time” and that was the song I got married to! It was playing when I walked down the sand at my wedding to Kenny. It’s so apropros. I find I’m learning about love every day. Love is definitely beautiful but it’s also work. Then, Nancy Wilson’s “Guess Who I Saw Today,” I didn’t hear till I was 20! You see, I wasn’t allowed to listen to secular music growing up. The song has a great story and I loved the journey in the song. I started singing it live about six years ago and I love that it takes you somewhere. It’s such a timeless song. I also did a bonus track with George – “This Could Be The Start Of Something Big.” Kadeem (my first husband) played me Aretha’s version around 1993. It’s a great song and I love her old stuff, the quality of her voice. It was so much fun to sing! Definitely straight ahead jazz…
DN: You worked with Raphael Saadiq on one song…
CM: Yes, “Special.” The song already written and it was so positive. Women we need to be told we’re special quite often and I like being the voice for that. Raphael and are both church kids and although we’re both from the Bay Area, I didn’t know him growing up. I met him around 1989 at a Tony!Toni!Tone concert…
DN: You wrote three songs for the record yourself…
CM: Yes, the title track, “Love The Woman” is very sensual. I thought about all the different parts of me that need attention as a woman! “Love Action” was inspired by people always talking about making love. This is song is about showing it!
DN: What are your overall thoughts about the CD?
CM: Each album reflects where I am in my life, how I’ve grown spiritually, emotionally. Right now, I’m a more mature woman. Having children, having been married before, all of these things have taught me lessons and made me a better person. The album reflects where I am right now...
DN: The music industry has changed so much since you first started recording. What are your thoughts about that?
CM: It’s a whole new era and it’s so different. I feel like a little like fish out of water. Record companies don’t nurture artists like they did. Louil (Silas) was one of the ones who would do that. Honestly, if I didn’t love the music so much, I probably wouldn’t still be doing this!
DN: Finally, what’s it been like recording, performing and touring with your husband, Kenny?
CM: It’s been a good time, a time of learning together. We’ve bonded as a couple and it’s been a blessing to be able to be on the road together. We’ve been able to fortify ourselves…and it’s a good thing that we get along! We’ve learned how to deal with one another.
About the Writer
David Nathan is the founder and CEO of SoulMusic.com and began his writing career in 1965; beginning in 1967, he was a regular contributor to Blues & Soul magazine in London before relocating to the U.S. in 1975 where he served as U.S. editor for the publication for several decades and began being known as 'The British Ambassador Of Soul.' From 1988 to 2004, he wrote prolifically for Billboard, has penned bios, produced and written liner notes for box sets and reissue CDs for over a thousand projects. He returned to London in 2009 where he has helped create SoulMusic.com Records as a leading reissue label.
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