K. Michelle’s country debut Jesus & Whiskey is out, and she’s being honest about the fight it took to make it. In a new interview with Entertainment Focus, first picked up by AllHipHop, she said she tried to add R&B tracks late in the process and got pushback. “I threw a fit because they didn’t want me to put those on the new album,” she said.
She also revealed that a song she badly wanted on the project missed the cut because it came in late and didn’t fit the rest of the record.
What’s on the Album
Jesus & Whiskey runs nine songs and was released through Real Outlawz Records and BBR Music Group. It was produced by Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, who has worked with K. Michelle going back to her Love & Hip Hop days. The Tennessean reported the music was recorded live with everybody in the same room, and you can hear it: steel guitar all over, plus Justin Schipper’s banjo on “Yodel.”
The title track, written with ERNEST, Jordan Dozzi and Rocky Block, mixes faith with human flaws. The early single “Jack Daniel’s” is the harder-edged side of the record.
The IAHHM Take
People act like this country run came out of nowhere. It didn’t. K. Michelle is from Memphis, she’s talked about earning a yodeling scholarship, and she’s named The Judds and Dolly Parton as influences. Last year she even corrected a host who claimed she didn’t grow up on country music.
The label viewing this as a country album from day one makes sense. If you want Nashville to take you seriously, you can’t hedge. But we get why she fought for the R&B songs, too. Her voice is the bridge, and she’s said she hopes new fans will find their way back to her older catalog. That’s the smart play.
So which side are you on? Should she have snuck a couple R&B records on there, or was keeping it fully country the right call? For more music and culture news, check our latest Week in Review.
Source: AllHipHop, Entertainment Focus
