It was like talking to a girlfriend. She told me early in the exchange "I am an open book". That proved to be true. No subject was off limits, no question went unanswered. I looked at not being in the music industry or a journalist as an advantage. I didn't know the correct protocol or the right or wrong questions to ask. I had nothing to gain or lose. I just asked questions that I wanted answered as a music fan...as a Jaguar Wright fan. I will be sharing the interview with you within the next few weeks but I was so excited about the conversation, I had to share just a little today.

Before I spoke with Jaguar, I knew things about her. I knew she was mostly recognized for her electrifying performance on Jay-Z's Unplugged concert and that her song "The What Ifs" was featured in a Coca-Cola advertising campaign but I also heard whispers of personal things about her. I tried not to have any preconceived notions before speaking to her but those whispers in my head were hard to discount... her constant use of expletives, her combative attitude, her dislike of other artists like Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, and Ashanti.

Honestly, I was just hoping to get in a good 15 minutes without getting cussed out, LOL. I was so wrong. What I got was an hour of her dropping knowledge about the state of music. She reflected on her role as a woman/mother/artist and her views on the world were frank and refreshing.

Within the first few minutes of the phone conversation, I felt that she had gotten a bad rap. We talked about anything and everything..the music, her kids, the business, the rumors. She put to rest one rumor concerning her fighting a fan on a rooftop while she was pregnant. Too wild to be true? Not exactly. She did have a physical confrontation but it was not with a fan and certainly not while she was pregnant. She even sang to me, two songs she just wrote plus one from Aretha (Never Loved A Man) and one from Marvin Gaye(Flying High). It was a treat beyond words. I found her to be an intelligent, proud black woman who is warm and friendly, bold and brazen and not afraid to speak her mind. Jaguar Wright does not hold her tongue.

Jaguar on rumors of her dislike of Mary J. Blige...

Let's start a new rumor... Mary J. Blige doesn't like me!

On remaking Woman 2 Woman and the state of songs today...

It's a fantastic song. I'm very disappointed with my generation and what we're doing with music. Listen to the songs that are being made and put out on the radio. Who's gonna remake the "Whisper Song" 20 years from now?

After asking if being called "ghetto" offended her...

I love it!...I'm ghettopolitan! There is nothing wrong with the ghetto. The ghetto is the birthplace, the womb of every great culture or movement. That's where the pain is baby.

On the term neosoul...

Neo means new and there is nothing new about soul music. To say what am I doing is new is to say I was never influenced by Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, Tina Turner, Etta James...It's an insult to our history.

On her cursing on her first album...

If you're so caught up in the words then obviously you weren't paying attention to the message. It was an honest record. Anyone who had been through what I had went through would have said the same things. When did soul music ever have boundaries?

It seems appropriate that Jaguar Wright should be my Underground Soul artist of the week. She released an album in 2002 called Denial, Delusions, and Decisions. You can hear clips from her new album on her site. Thanks to Artemis Records and SOHH.com for the opportunity. Stay tuned for more...

Jaguar Wright - Denial, Delusions, and Decisions
1. The What If's
2. Country Song
3. Stay
4. Love Need And Want You
5. Same Shit Different Day
6. Ain't Nobody Playin'
7. I Can't Wait
8. I Don't Know
9. 2 Too Many
10. Lineage
11. Self Love
12. Same Shit Different Day Pt. 2