Jaheim has come a long way from his days of talent shows and Showtime at the Apollo.. His voice, soul and passionate music continues to shine and stands the test of time. Hard work has paid of for singer/songwriter who's still here and still hungry for more. After three successful albums Jaheim has returned with his fourth effort, The Makings of a Man... The Jersey native tells MahoganyGirl that this release marks his professional and spritual growth... The self proclaimed thug has found love and new motivation for making his signature music...but is he still ghetto? ... MG has an interesting and informative conversation with the soulful thug aka Jaheim. The artist speaks on career, Teddy Pendergrass, marriage, kids, God and more kids...MGirls peep the game that is being dropped in this one...

MahoganyGirl: What's Up Jaheim.. How are you?
Jaheim: What's Up..I'm good.

MG: You've made some changes in your career recently by switching record labels for your latest release..Can you talk about the changes?
Jaheim: Yeah, I changed situations from Warner to Atlantic. I had to step back and see who was around me and I made some changes. I changed everything from the top to the bottom and I got on a new level with God too. With this album I’ve grown and I’ve grown in my business.

MG: You were on Warner for a minute...How was that situation for you?
Jaheim: Like living at home all your life, You gotta grow up you know. I don’t have no problems with Warner or anybody over there.. I’m still apart of the Warner group but it was just time to move on and grow.

MG: That's understandable. You mentioned getting on a new level with God why is that important to you?
Jaheim: I was caught up in the business and everything I wasn’t focusing on God. I wasn’t reaching for him…When you busy you’re not reaching for him. I had people around me telling me to do this and do that but I wasn’t reaching for him. When I first came out I did 1.9 (Million), then 1.3 then 500,000 so I was seeing something wasn’t going the way it should have been going you know. So, I started reaching for him and he put me in this new situation.

MG: I'm glad you admit that cause most people wouldn't...I want to ask you about old school R&B artists...When you first came out there were a lot of comparisons between you and Teddy Pendergrass. Have you met him yet?
Jaheim: Yeah, I met him and I didn’t know who he was...I didn’t know he was this singer that was bound to a wheelchair and all that. When I first met him he was like - you gotta find your own way... He thought I was trying to take something away from what he did but I never knew of him. I never heard his music.

MG: (Laughs) That's Crazy.. What did you think about all that?
Jaheim: I understand it...Cause people do the same thing to me. The press does it too with things they write and things get twisted around. They compare me to this singer or that singer and I be like hold up that nigga don’t sound like me. (Laughs)

MG: (Laughs)
Jaheim: So, I know how he felt but I never listened to any of his music or studied it until my last two albums. I didn’t know him. I let him know that I wasn’t trying to do what he did or take anything away from him. Everything is good between us now, we’re great friends... I’ve been to his house and they cooked a bunch of food for me and everything..

MG: I'm glad everything worked out... I've read that Luther Vandross is one of your favorite singers.. Did you get a chance to meet him before he passed?
Jaheim: Yeah, a couple of times. The first time I saw him perform I was young and I just remember being in shock I was speechless. I was just watching everything he was doing and sucking it up like a sponge..(Laughs).. After the show I got to meet him and I shook his hand and I told him he was the greatest..(Laughs) I don’t remember what happen after that I couldn’t believe it.

MG: You've maintained a foundation and a long relationship with Divine Mill and CEO/Producer Kay Gee...How is it working with him?
Jaheim: Working with Kay Gee is good because he understands the game. To me Kay Gee is the greatest, he's one of most underrated producers of all time.

MG: Yeah, he's done some good work with artists...You, Koffee Brown, Naughty By Nature, Zhane..
Jaheim: I put him up there with Dr. Dre he’s one of the greatest. But he’s real quiet and about the business so he doesn’t get looked at most of the time.

MG: How is Kay Gee doing these days?
Jaheim: He’s good, we’re great friends. Me and Kay Gee Will always do business together.

MG: Cool... So, Jaheim what's your romantic status these days? I have a 100,000 homegirls that want to know the real deal..
Jaheim: What do you mean romantic status?

MG: Are you single, dating, married, cheating, bitter, not caring... you know the status of your love life..
Jaheim: I'm actually off the market right now.

MG: I'm crushed.
Jaheim: Don't be crushed.

MG: (Laughs)..What's the deal..You married man?
Jaheim: Well, I live my life you know. I’m a thug and I’m wise and sophisticated about things too. I’m married to my music first of all but I had been contemplating it. One day I was like let’s do it! We both in love and it took her awhile to see that I was right there in front of her, she didn’t see it at first but I knew it.

MG: So...Are you married?
Jaheim: We're taking baby steps.

MG: Got it. Why was it important for you to find someone special at this stage in your life?
Jaheim: I was out there running around you know... When you young you out there doing whatever then you wake up and think about settling down. You got people out there that want to take advantage of you when you get to a certain level of success. So, you got to watch out for that.. You can’t run around forever.

MG: Yeah, at some point you have to settle down and look at the big picture. You want kids?
Jaheim: Yeah, I want to bring another me into the world. She wants about six kids... So, I told her I want seven.

MG: (Laughs) Seven is a good number.
Jaheim: I might even want ten!

MG: Ten!
Jaheim: You know when you in love like that you keep popping them out.

MG: (Laughs) Sounds like a lot of work... You come from a big family?
Jaheim: Yeah, I come from a large background my grand parents had about 75 grand children.

MG: That's a lot of kids. You've been so blessed in your career how do you give back?
Jaheim: Through my foundation we’re working and giving houses to people in the community, teaching them how to be home owners. I’m rebuilding a church back home, my grandmother's church. It’s the church I grew up in and I’ma do some things with that too.

MG: You're doing so much right now...Is there anything else you want to achieve?
Jaheim: I want to keep doing what I’m doing and give my fans more Jahiem. I want to give them more of me... I’ve grown from a boy, to a wise guy and now I’m a grown ass man you know... I want to continue to give them that growth through my music.

MG: Sounds Good. I appreciate your time Jaheim... much love to you and good luck with the ten kids.
Jaheim: No Problem.. It's love.

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