Floetry Singer Might Have 50 On Her Dre-Produced Solo LP
01.26.2006 8:46 PM EST
Marsha Ambrosius insists album doesn't spell the end of the neo-soul duo.
When you're one of the biggest producers of all time, you can afford to keep trying something until you get it right. So Dr. Dre — undeterred by his previous attempts to release a blockbuster R&B album — has signed another singing act to his Aftermath label: Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry.
In November, Floetry performed two shows at the Roxy in West Hollywood, drawing the likes of Dre and even Prince. The producer was so taken aback by Martha's singing that night that he offered her a solo deal shortly after.
"I'm absolutely ... I'm in shock," Ambrosius said earlier this week about her deal. "It shows all dreams are real. It's one of those situations where I'd be a fool to pass it up. The idea was posed to my manager and he said, 'The offer is laid out on the table. What do you want to do?' I figured [i'm] 28 years old, I came over to the U.S. [from the U.K.] on a whim that something might happen, I'm already three albums deep with Floetry. That's already made its mark and is something that will remain. I would genuinely be a fool not to do it. Anybody would."
Though Dre is not exactly known for dabbling in Floetry's brand of neo-soul, Marsha has no doubt the alliance will work. "We've spoken [about how] the difference between our musicianship is evident, yet the marriage will be perfect and there will be no mistakes," she said. "There's no harm in me collaborating with someone of that caliber and creating some magic. That will happen."
The two have already been recording, the singer said. "When we met that week after the Roxy show, we were supposed to talk about ideas for the project. He played me some beats and I ended up writing a song and recording it in an hour. The chemistry was immediate. It was an [uptempo record], the beat was crazy."
50 Cent happened to be in the studio that day as well and jumped on the record. Ambrosius said she's not sure if the version with 50 will end up on her album, or if the song will even be on the album at all. It's still early, and the LP probably won't be out until next year, she said.
"My message will still be personal, it's still one and the same," she added. "It's still 'Say Yes' and 'Butterflies' and 'Getting Late' and the songs I had written. It's just me as myself; a 28-year-old woman coming into her own. You're gonna get your ballads, your mids, your ups. It's going to be a consistent album."
Floetry fans shouldn't be scared just because Martha is going solo. She says her partnership with Natalie Stewart is still intact and that they're going on at least two more tours this year. One tour is scheduled for April, and they'll be part of package deal in the summer. Mary J. Blige is one person they've been talks with. The duo also have plans to shoot a video for "Lay Down," the next single off Flo'Ology.
"Floetry is always going to be Floetry, regardless if Nat does her album or I do my album," Ambrosius insisted. "I'm still the songstress from Floetry."
For her solo LP, the songbird also wants to work with producers Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and the tandem of Dre & Vidal. "That would be enough for me," she giggled. "I don't ask for much. I dream for much, and sometime they come true."
— Shaheem Reid