So you said this new record is a lot about the ladies.
Yeah. A lot of stories and dreams about women. Reality and dreams. A lot of emotion. There’s this one song where this guy lives in the jungle for some reason and the lady lives in the city but they have this relationship. There is another song called “Wine and Chocolate,” which is kind of like a foreplay song. It’s this guy trying to figure out if wine and chocolate could be how he gets this girl. “Groove Me” is all about sex. Another is about sitting against a tree while you’re at war and your girl is back home.
Do you fall in love easily?
No! I get bored very fast, which is bad.
What holds your attention?
I like smart woman. I like women that travel a lot. I don’t like people who cause problems and argue. I like talking, being open, and spontaneous. It’s like let’s set a date to go to the movies or let’s just meet in the morning and have this crazy day as we go. So my recent girlfriend she’s cool like that.
What is your favorite thing about a woman?
The thoughtful caring factor. I was in Miami at this CVS and there was this lady in front of me and her husband walks up with a bottle of Pepsi. She was like “What the hell are you doing with that?” She took it and put it back. It was like she was looking out for him because it wasn’t good for him. That was cute how she did it though.
Are you close with your mama?
Its complicated because me and my mom…my mom lives a totally different lifestyle. She’s like in a cult, like a baptist church cult that I’m kind of against. But every time I’m in a magazine we meet up and I give her the magazine, maybe give her some cash and a hug and kiss. Oh and I bought her some Jordan’s about a month ago. She’s a nurse so she’s going to work with the Jordans on. I was trying to get some cute hood girl shoes like air max, but she wanted the 12’s. White and red. It was cool…I used to wear my mom’s shoes to school because she couldn’t buy me any shoes. It would be a laughing stock in the classroom because I’d have on my mom’s shoes and she probably wore a size bigger than me.
And now you’ve been all over the world.
I was in France last Saturday, but I was pissed because I don’t know French so it took me like three hours to find something to eat. I gotta start learning different languages. But when I was in Trinidad, I was born there, I couldn’t believe I was performing for all of these beautiful Trinidadian women. I took a day off and went into the country and fed goats and ate off of street venders. It felt good. It felt pure.
Can I see your eyes? (he takes off his Moscot sunglasses)
I know I never show my eyes. I think my second or third album I won’t have the glasses but this is how I want to express myself right now. One of my style icons is my grandmother’s boyfriend Monty. He wears all of these old caps and aviators.
Do you find getting dressed easy, or is fashion a chore?
There was a point where I was trying to be fashionable and it was frustrating. I finally said “I want this to be the least of my worries” Now all of my pants are tailored and I have a certain type of shoe I wear and I only wear hats and shades. I know my comfort zone.
And finally, what’s your cure for writer’s/recording block?
Get out of the studio immediately and be around unbalanced people. Like go to some weird bar and be around folks you don’t know. Either 25% good could happen to you or 75% bad could happen to you. But within that good or bad there’s going to be an amazing story.
[...] Theophilus London Interview [...]