Estelle: Industry buzzes over British import
John Legend’s first signee got her home schooling abroad
If British hip-pop import Estelle wants to see how well Americans mesh soul and hip-hop, she’d better act fast and get to a Mary J. Blige/Jay-Z show. “I don’t even want to talk about that,” Estelle, born Fanta Estelle Swaray, says with a tinge of discontentment in her accent. “I’m missing everything. I was in London when they started it. I’m going to be out of town when they do it in New York. I’m just so irritated. I want to see the show.”
Estelle’s disdain for missing the concert goes beyond not seeing the duo’s performance of “Can’t Knock the Hustle.” As was the case with many ’80s babies, Mary J.’s graceful mishmash of rap and R&B was influential on Estelle, who grew up on MTV with seven siblings in a Senegalese/Grenadian home in the U.K. Yet, she also “listened to a lot of reggae artists and pop artists. Kylie Minogue was a favorite. Queen was a favorite. Monie Love was dope. She was like one of the only female rappers back in the day.”
There still aren’t many female MCs making headlines. The buzz surrounding this 28-year-old go-getter certainly hints at a change. But what America is now fussing over in the form of Estelle’s stateside debut, Shine – the first release off John Legend’s HomeSchool label – is a mere continuation of all the excitement about her ‘04 European release, The 18th Day. Sounding like something Lauryn Hill might’ve recorded had she grown up in Big Ben’s shadow, the album was poetic, inspiring and a lot of fun. The European press loved it. Club-goers around West London did, too. She wanted more, though. So, she eventually packed up and moved to NYC.
OK. So, Corinne Bailey Rae and Amy Winehouse make the London leap, snuggle up with a Grammy, and Estelle reaps the benefits. We get it.
Not so fast, bloke.
“Amy does what Amy does,” says Estelle, who met Legend after a chance encounter with Kanye West at a California restaurant. “I just think people opened up a lil’ bit more after her album. ... It helped on that level. It’s cool. It works out. I’m not mad at her at all. Amy’s one of my mates.”
Amy, Mary J. and all the rest will probably smile at the strings Estelle and Shine executive producer Legend were able to pull for the star-packed winner. Kanye bobs along on the budding hit “American Boy.” Will.i.am produces the neck-spraining first single “Wait a Minute (Just a Touch).” And Cee-Lo, Wyclef Jean and Mark Ronson pop up elsewhere.
“When I was doing the recording, there was no time or space for any kind of ‘Wow,’” Estelle says, regarding all the project’s heavy hitters. “Looking at it now, everybody is like, ‘You’ve got Cee-Lo, Wyclef Jean, Kanye, John!’ Most of these guys are my friends. It feels weird, without sounding big-headed at all.”
A-listers aside, the question remains: If album sales struggle amid the industry’s downward trend, will it be considered a flop?
“I’m one of those people who’ve never relied on one situation to come to me,” says Estelle, seemingly prepared for that question. “My label and I understand that it’s not about one record with me. They’re like, ‘You’re an artist. You’re going to grow. You’re one of the artists that’s going to be around for a while.’ They’re not investing in me for the one record, the jump-off record to end all records.”
As for the fans, “they know I’m going to keep doing good music,” says the winner of the past three Best Female MC honors at the U.K. Hip Hop Awards. “I only care that the fans ... see my show and get to know me on that level. My thing is never to be involved in the industry part of it. It should be about the fans. There are no record sales nowadays, you know?”