Following the release of her new single ‘Birthday‘ just days ago, K. Michelle has announced the title of her fourth studio album. The project ‘Kimberly: The People I Used to Know‘ is expected to arrive this year on Atlantic Records, and is one of her last two albums she owes the label.
The singer just sat down and dished to Billboard on what fans can expect from the album, why she is done with reality TV, her thoughts on the R. Kelly cult accusations and if she will address it on the album, and more. Get into the quotes via BB below after the video.
On “Build a Man,” you talk about your relationship with R. Kelly and in the song, you call him “controlling.” With the recent news about him about him having a cult and controlling people, what do you make of this news in particular? Are you surprised by these allegations?
I’m not surprised by them, I’m actually going to be speaking more about it because I do feel like it’s my obligation as a woman to tell the truth and to do right by other females that are in the business and all these young women who don’t have a voice. So it’s been something that’s been toying and been really stressing me and I’ve been going back and forth with how to speak about it and how to do right for those girls and read some comments about one of the accusers. I went to a blog and I saw women tearing this little girl up. And it immediately brought tears to my eyes because I remember what that was like trying to tell about my abuse. I’ve dealt with other abuse and I tried to tell but when I was telling people were calling me a liar, they were bashing me, they were telling me I was hateful. To read those comments about these women, these young women, these little girls and how people were so naïve to reality or just didn’t give a fuck about the reality and to call these little girls liars and to really take them down, is something I don’t really know right now if I’m willing to stand aside and watch it happen. But I can honestly tell you right now that I have yet to find the proper platform and the proper way to protect and voice my support for these women. I’m not here to bash but right is right and wrong is wrong. That’s all I can really say right now.
Well you talk about finding solidarity with the claims these girls are making. And you find a commonality in the sense that people don’t believe you. So do you believe that there’s truth to these allegations?
I can’t speak on it. I do believe that in every piece of the story there’s something that is true and I’ve learned so much from my mentor and it’s just the right time and place to say things, to do it properly so that the people you’re trying to help are actually helped instead of taunted so I’ll be speaking more about it but I’ll be doing it in the right way.
What else can you share about Kimberly: The People I Used to Know?
This is the longest I’ve gone without putting out music and it kinda has people freaking out, kinda over-examining things and things like that. The album shows me and all my bipolar-ness so it really shows that and I hit on every single emotion of being a woman and being a growing woman. So it has, even for a man, a lot of things you can relate to you, a lot of life issues this time not just heartbreak but life in general. I’m shooting like five, six videos, this week? So I’m very excited about it because I’m taking my time.
To get a little personal, you’re currently engaged, right?
I am. We just started the process two, three weeks ago [for surrogacy]. I wants twins and I had this big lupus scare. Like they called me and said I had lupus and then I so then I was freaking out, had to run to the doctor, go to a specialist, it came back negative. So then I went to a fertility doctor, we’ve been going through all of that and just because I want twins, they’re saying because I’m so little I won’t be able to carry twins to full term. So this big process, I’m gonna have to pick a surrogate and everything and that’s very nerve-wracking and I have an album coming out, I’m gonna have to try and prepare. New babies are coming and it’s really something we’ve been wanting. I just want to make the right decision when it comes to picking a surrogate and that process has completely started.
All this sounds like perfect fodder for a reality TV show but from what you’ve said, you’re done with that. Is that the case?
It’s kinda the case for now. I’ve had offers. We just started taking some meetings, there are some networks that are interested in me but it’s not the same as reality. This reality basically, Atlantic gave me my own record label and they told me to sign three acts a year to them. And help bring R&B back, and you know R&B, really put the focus on it. So this is the type of TV show, not those fake little “I want a record deal” shows, no none of that, I don’t have time for that.
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