URB: Do you know to whom your tracks are going when you’re making them? Specifically, were T.I. and Weezy in your mind when you did “Whatever You Like” and “Lollipop”?
JONSIN: Sometimes you’ll be crafting an instrumental for someone specifically but with the “Lollipop” record, it got bounced around a little bit. That beat was originally made for Danity Kane but Bad Boy passed on it. Then, the late-great Static Major–who sings the hook– heard it and began writing it and threw that really catchy hook on it. Then it was brought to Lil Wayne and apparently he liked it and it just kind of took off from there. T.I. was a little different. I was in a meeting with him and we wanted to work together so I left him a CD and that instrumental was on there and we began to work so that was a bit more formal. But lots of stuff happens accidentally. Beyonce, in fact, was doing a concert down here [in Florida] and we ended up working on a song for her.
URB: Some of your biggest hits have also been used for tracks about relations with women. Is there anything to that, that may come from your creative process?
JONSIN: [Laughs] I suppose that is true but I think that [dynamic] is really a collaborative thing that happens when the song is forming. I think it’s a coincidence. But I will say this, you need to know that chicks buy records more than us guys so I think we need to cater more to women, cater to them musically. I think the love song really needs to make a strong come back; women are really important to my music and I think to music in general.
URB: That being said, you must take it as a real compliment that females dance to and really enjoy your songs… When “Whatever You Like” comes on, I’ve seen girls go crazy…
JONSIN: Yeah, it’s always cool to be out and see that stuff; but it really just makes me happy that my tracks are enjoyed by anybody. Sometimes, I’ll be in a club and one of my songs comes on and one of my friends will go wild and point to me, yelling “He made this!”
URB: I spoke to Warren G a few weeks ago and asked if he ever gets tired of hearing “Regulators” just because it is such an iconic song and he said he’ll never get tired of hearing it and that each time he hears it, it’s as fresh as the first; do you agree?
JONSIN: Oh I totally agree, I’ll never get sick of the tracks I’ve done. There’s a story behind all of the music that I make. They’re special, especially “Lollipop,” that one is especially special to me.
Some artists kind of write off the significance of receiving a Grammy, how did getting yours feel?
JONSIN: It’s a great honor and it just feels like I’m on the board. Before I got one, I never realized how amazing it feels to win a Grammy, but it really feels fantastic. It’s also an honor because, I saw a list of veterans who never won a Grammy; I’m talking about musical legends, I mean guys who I’d guess have tons of Grammys, but don’t. So when I won my Grammy, I really felt like I’d made it.
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