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ThaFormula.com - How was the Okay Player Tour last year?

Jaguar Wright - It was phenomenal. We had a wonderful time. I was very pleased to be a part of it and I'm so thankful for that experience.

ThaFormula.com - Do you think that tour opened up a lot of people to Jaguar Wright?

Jaguar Wright - Yeah, I'm sure it did. We did pretty much every major city and it was a great response all the way through. It was wonderful. Also, us doing the song from The Best Man was kind of like introducing me because most people had never heard of who I was before.

ThaFormula.com - That song from Best Man turned out to be a big hit.

Jaguar Wright - Yeah and I wasn't even supposed to be on that song. I wrote that hook and someone else was supposed to sing it. I mean I wasn't expecting to be on the song. I figured I’d just write the hook and someone else would sing it. No big deal. So the director heard it and liked my voice. So they kept my voice on it. To me it was a double whammy. I was like WOW! This is my first national song that got played on the radio throughout the country and whoa, I wrote on it and I sang on it. It was incredible.

ThaFormula.com - How long have you been writing?

Jaguar Wright - I been writing for a long time. I have been trying to sell songs for years. It's difficult when you aren't connected or when your not in the union or when you don't have a publisher that your working with. So my next biggest accomplishment will be this album because I wrote the whole album.

ThaFormula.com - How was it working with ?uestlove?

Jaguar Wright - That's my brother. I love him to death. It's a joy when I get the chance. Working with him is, uh, I can't even call it work. It's two minds who really love music getting together and having a ball and that's what it's like working with ?uestlove. It's the most wonderful situation in a working relationship that you can have. He's incredible.

ThaFormula.com - Do you think he is underrated?

Jaguar Wright - Yeah, without a doubt. He's probably one of the most underrated pieces in hip-hop that there are. What he does is incredible and I don't think anybody really realizes that. I hope that they realize exactly how phenomenal not just ?uestlove is, but the Roots as a unit really are. I hope they realize after this Jay-Z special on unplugged. In unplugged you need a band and it's funny because little did we know, he actually likes The Roots. So he asked The Roots to be the band.

ThaFormula.com - Yeah that was a big surprise, but he seems to be trying to go back to where he started in hip-hop?

Jaguar Wright - I don't think he ever left, but it's easy to get caught up in the commercial machine. He was on MTV everyday.

ThaFormula.com - I thought it was a real cool thing that he chose The Roots to be his band on stage?

Jaguar Wright - Yeah, but the truth is, who else was gonna do a better ob. It was a phenomenal performance. I did the singing part. The only song that I didn't sing was Mary's "Can't Knock the Hustle". She came and she performed that herself and that was lovely. We had a ball. Everybody that was there felt that it was an incredible experience. I truly doubt it if that's gonna be the last time that you see Jay - Z performing with a live band. I don't think it will be The Roots because they are busy working on their next album. I think he's gonna go all the way out when performing again.

ThaFormula.com - How did Jay-Z react afterwards to being backed up by a band like The Roots?

Jaguar Wright - He had a ball! He actually for the first time got to experience what it feels like to have that freedom on stage. With a tape once it's over, it's over. You got to move on to the next single whether you like it or not, but with a band you can walk people through different climaxes and different points. It was a blessing and I enjoyed working with Jay-Z.

ThaFormula.com – So how did you get on there with Jay-Z?

Jaguar Wright - The boys were doing it, and of course they were gonna have to get a vocalist to do the singing because most of the singing on his record are samples. So they called me. This was an incredible experience. I'm still blown away that I actually got to witness and be a part of probably one of the most incredible hip-hop shows that people have seen in a while. To see underground meets mainstream go on big! Because if there is one thing that the Roots can do with hip-hop, and with underground hip-hop, is make it big. You hear it on record, but when you see them live and the intensity and the way you make you feel it. They legitimize hip-hop.

ThaFormula.com - Was there ever a point in your life where you ever felt the underground and the mainstream shouldn't mix?

Jaguar Wright - No. I think it has to. It has to for it to go on. Because if the underground keeps going on underground and the mainstream keeps going on mainstream, it's all gonna turn into something else and then were gonna lose what we believe in.

ThaFormula.com - So by mixing both the underground and mainstream together, what are the results in your eyes?

Jaguar Wright - I think that this special is going to spark a new energy in hip-hop all the way around. After the mainstream artists see Jay-Z in this light, there gonna say, "Whoa these underground hip hop heads got something too". I think it's just gonna cause people to open up to each other a whole lot more. This business is very cliquish and I hope this can make people see what can we do together. The possibilities are endless.

ThaFormula.com - So are you gonna be working on the Beat Generation album also?

Jaguar Wright - Whose album is that?

ThaFormula.com - ?uestlove's solo album?

Jaguar Wright - Oh, yes. He's working with everybody on that. That's gonna be like, uh, that's were there calling it now (Laughs). It's just so many different names that the project has gotten.

ThaFormula.com - What's the difference between working with ?uest and working with Scott Storch?

Jaguar Wright - I've known Scott for years. Were talking at least 5 years working with him on and off that whole time. Now working with Scott is a lot different because he's in such demand. The man has been working with Christina Aguilera and his time is so much shorter. He's out on the West Coast now, he's not back at home, but working with Scott, we always had fun because me and Scott would sit around and, uh, that's a white boy that knows soul music. There is no formula, no set rules, none of that. It's just us being us, doing what we love. I worked with Scott, Ahmir (?uest), and James Poysner on this album and that's pretty much it. I worked with family.

ThaFormula.com - So did you choose your producers on this album?

Jaguar Wright - I guess we kind of chose each other, but it wasn't even a choice kind of thing, just family. This is just as much their album as it is mine. We’re family.

ThaFormula.com - What producer would you say surprised you the most?

Jaguar Wright - None of them. They all did exactly what I knew they would, which is their best. They put their best foot forward and they make good music. I wasn't surprised, nor was I let down. I was just honored that for a new artist coming out of nowhere, every last one of the producers for the most part that I had working on my album had won a Grammy in the last three years. How many new artists get to say that?, that there album was produced by Grammy award winning producers and songwriters. I'm still trying to get over that one.

ThaFormula.com - How was it recording with Black Thought. What is the vibe like when the 2 of you get together?

Jaguar Wright - I mean Tariq (Blackthought) just does his thing. Our musical relationship is very relaxed.

ThaFormula.com - The chemistry the two of you had on those tracks on your album was incredible?

Jaguar Wright - You have to realize, I'm like Tariq's unheard of or unspoken hype woman. When were on stage, there is a chemistry between us that's like big brother little sister. It shows in the music and on stage when we’re performing together. For me it's like nothing new or out of the ordinary. What you hear on those songs is just the way we are, especially when it comes to doing our own work. I'm glad that you feel that way.

ThaFormula.com - I guess that's why it happens the way it does. It's rare to find such a tight family in this business nowadays. So there is never any ego trippin’ going on right?

Jaguar Wright - No, but that's because we have a level of respect. Everybody knows what the ranks are and we respect it. You earn our respect and we give it accordingly.

ThaFormula.com - Do you think that it is very important to know what the ranks are within a family or organization?

Jaguar Wright - Oh yes, completely. Number one, I would never overstep my limits with Tariq or Ahmir because I owe them everything. So for me there is that unspoken respect. How do you have an ego with that man that saved your life? Different people have their different relationships with them, but for me it has always been pleasant. I guess because they look at me as the little sister who always shows love and respect, and I guess that's why they treat me the way that they do.

ThaFormula.com - What are your thoughts on Bilal, and how was it working with him?

Jaguar Wright - Well that's my baby. If I had a best friend in music, it would probably be him. He's my favorite. I think he's incredible. It was me and Lali acting up in the studio talkin’ shit. He laid down his verse and that was what he did.

ThaFormula.com - Now I feel that he is another artist who is very underrated?

Jaguar Wright - Oh, completely. No one could be more disappointed with the turnout from “1st Born Second” then I.

ThaFormula.com - What do you think happened?

Jaguar Wright - People lost it. It got lost in the shuffle and this is what I have been talkin’ about. This is nothing but a product of what I was afraid of all along. What's been happening with “neo-soul”, is that instead of us changing the market we have conformed. Instead of us creating an area where the music that we do will be safe and could be respected to where we could do it forever, we just fell into place with “jiggy”.

ThaFormula.com - Why do you think that has happened?

Jaguar Wright - Well because people are selfish and people are thinking of their careers and nobody wants to be broke and poor. People see their opportunity and they run with it. Not everybody's big picture looks the same and maybe everyone is not tall enough to see the big picture. Maybe the picture that they are looking at is fine and unfortunately we haven't taken good enough care with “neo-soul”, but I hope that in the future we make the right decision to take care of it.

ThaFormula.com - What do you think was the biggest mistake on the album?

Jaguar Wright - What I do think was a mistake, was putting Jadakiss on that one song. I think it completely killed the credibility, because who are you marketing the song to? The people who would understand that song don't listen to Jadakiss. They don't. They’re real music listeners. Bilal is an avant-garde performer, song writer, and vocalist. The things that he's doing are not for just the average you know pick up a rap album and listen to 3 songs type person. The truth is it was a very confusing project for people who are not in touch with their music. If your not feeling it, how can you possibly promote it. When I say feelin’ it, I mean understanding it. That was a whole lot of album to take. But, how many people remember Prince's earliest albums? How many people remember Marvin Gaye's earliest albums? How many people even know that there were 8 lost albums that Marvin Gaye ever did? When you’re dealing with someone that is dancing on music genius! I mean who is dancing around that area you got to be careful because the whole point of it might pass you by and you had no idea that you were listening to a phenomenon. It was just a whole lot of album and if people could really pay attention to it… I mean his contribution to me is worth 85 double platinum records. Because there is depth, range, just incredible work in that album.

ThaFormula.com - Does this worry you?

Jaguar Wright – That it might happen to me?

ThaFormula.com - Yeah?

Jaguar Wright - Yeah, of course it does. But my goal with my album was to go far, but not to go too far. This album is just an introduction. What I'm capable of, your gonna hear 5 years from now and 9 times out of 10 it's not gonna be one of my main albums. It's gonna be an album that I put out independently on my own for true music listeners. Certain things just don't belong in certain arenas. Our truest capabilities and our truest talents will never be accepted in the commercial world because it's just not what they do. People wanna be entertained, they don't wanna think. They don't wanna feel. They just want something to dance too. There is a lot more that we have to say that people can hear or that we should make sure that people hear. What we have to do is learn how to do it in a way that's not to complicate so the message gets through. That's the tricky thing with intelligent music. Hooked on phonics is my terminology for it. When your working in the commercial art sometimes you have to put what you believe aside, unfortunately.

ThaFormula.com - Do you think that people are ready for your album?

Jaguar Wright - I don't know. I hope so. That's all I can do. I gave of myself what I thought was appropriate for this time.

ThaFormula.com - What's the release date looking like for your album right now?

Jaguar Wright - January 29th and there is not a reason why they should push it back any further then that! They have done it 4 times and that's enough. My first date was March of 2001 and of course we didn't make that. We were then supposed to come out in June, but then that got pushed back so the next “official” date was August 21st, and then the next “official” date was October 23rd and then there was a November date. So I got 4 dates last year.

ThaFormula.com - So who decides when your album drops. Motive, or MCA?

Jaguar Wright - MCA!

ThaFormula.com - So then what does Motive do?

Jaguar Wright - Motive is responsible for bringing the work. We do the work and they sit back and they decide when they are ready to make money (laughs). That's how the game works and the truth is they are funding all this stuff. They had absolutely nothing to do with the making of this album.

ThaFormula.com - Do you ever think that you might get stuck in a situation like the Jazzyfatnastees are in right now?

Jaguar Wright - I hope to god not because that's terrible. That's really terrible and the truth is that they are very talented people and good women.

ThaFormula.com - What are you hoping for the album to do Jag?

Jaguar Wright - Whatever it does. If only 150,000 people bought this record that would be an amazing accomplishment for me because I wouldn't believe that that many people thought enough of me to support my music. It's good and they were my blessing and hopefully my music will be there's.

ThaFormula.com - How much touring have you done for the album in the last year?

Jaguar Wright - I've been on and off on the road for the past 2 years. So for me, I'm about promo’d out. This has been the longest “slomo” tour (laughs). I'm thankful though. I've gotten to meet a lot of great people. I just hope that by the time my album comes out, I'm not too tired to give them the best I’ve got, because I'm tired. I'm very tired. I'm married, I got an 8 year old son, and I'm about to have a baby (Laughs).

ThaFormula.com - Congratulations.

Jaguar Wright - Thank You.

ThaFormula.com - How is it having a family and being on the road so much?

Jaguar Wright - Hard! Very hard. Because I'm usually with my family all the time. So I have to cram a lot of special time into a little bit of time. But I'm good at that because I played house long before I started living it (Laughs).

ThaFormula.com - Do you plan on singing forever?

Jaguar Wright - I'll always sing, but I ain't trying to be singing for Fuckin’ ever. I don't want to do music because I have to. I want to do music because I want to. Because there are so many other things that I'm trying to do. I'm trying to get this screenplay finished, I'm trying to get my acting career back on line.

ThaFormula.com - Speaking on that, what exactly are you working on other then your album?

Jaguar Wright - My movie. I'm writing a movie, and that's all I'm going to say (Laughs). I'm hoping to have a finished product within the next year.

ThaFormula.com - Why do you think so many music artists are jumping into acting all of a sudden?

Jaguar Wright - Because they need to make money (Laughs). You gotta have some other gig, especially if you are living an expensive lifestyle. You need something else. You need another high maintenance job because you are a high maintenance person. That's generally why they do it. Me, I love art. Most rappers don't get more then 10 years. 10 years is success and what the hell are you gonna do after that? What are you gonna do after that? What else is there? You gonna write other people's raps for the rest of your life. You gonna live in the shadows for the rest of your life. It's a perfect opportunity to try to pull another career off of something else. It's a perfect way to not have to change your life. Look at LL, Will Smith. At a time where Will Smith's musical career was at a all time low, it was his movie and television career that put it back. It's called expanding your horizons and all that. It's called having a broader look at things. Not every person that does music can do that and not every person from that side of the tracks can move to this side of the tracks either. How many actresses have you seen try to come out with a record and the shit falls through the floor. It's not easy to do, but it makes sense.

ThaFormula.com - So is acting something that you look forward to?

Jaguar Wright - Oh definitely. I will act one way or the other. I'm going to do that because I know I can, and I know I would be amazing at it because I'm a person who is good at pulling emotion and relaying feeling. I'm a performing artist and entertainer, and I want a career in the entertainment industry.

ThaFormula.com - Why do you think your performances are talked about so much?

Jaguar Wright - I bust my ass on stage because I'm a hard critic. I don't like giving any less then what I wanna see. If there's one thing I hate is going and taking my money to see a bullshit ass show. I hate that. I find that so pathetic because I could have stayed home and watched the video. So I don't ever want anybody to feel that way about any work that I do. So being that I'm such a tough critic, I don't ever want anyone to feel that way about me.

ThaFormula.com - When do you feel that the whole camp will finally get the recognition that you all deserve?

Jaguar Wright - Hopefully with this project.

ThaFormula.com - Have you and Jill Scott ever worked together?

Jaguar Wright – We’re friends, but we never have actually worked together, and maybe we will. I think it would be a really, really amazing song because of the contrast between the two of us. Even though were both very similar, she's at one end of the spectrum and I'm at the other. So I think it would make it an amazing and incredible song. I look forward to that, but right now were both doing our own thing.

ThaFormula.com - Now why was there so much separation with Jill and the camp seeing that her start was with The Roots?

Jaguar Wright - Because there is a lot of misunderstanding and you got to realize in this game you have choices. She chose what she needed and what she needed was her own foundation and she has that. We support her 100%. There was a choice and she made it and it worked for her. We’re happy. Her foundation worked. Going to a new company and doing her own thin, she's the pioneer for Hidden Beach and I will be the pioneer for Motive.

ThaFormula.com - Be sure to pick up Jaguar Wright's debut album Denials, Delusions and Decisions when it hits a store near you January 29th 2002. You will not be disappointed. A definite must have for those that appreciate hip hop, R & B, &  Soul music.

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