Legendary singer/songwriter Al Green pulls no punches in this exclusive interview with Bayer Mack. The good reverend is back with his new album, Everything's Okay, and recently spent a few minutes talking with us. In addition to the new release, Green discusses his role as the "preacher of the Hip-Hop generation," making babies, and his return to secular recording.
MVRemix: What made you originally want to make that transition back into secular music?
Al Green: I aint went nowhere. Yall [the media] the ones going somewhere. [Laughing]
MVRemix: Right.
Al Green: Youre worried about whats secular and what aint secular and whats gospel and what aint gospel. On Love and Happiness, I said be good to me and Ill be good to you, and well see each other walk away with victory. Now whatever you want to think about that, Im gonna let you do that. Thats not my business. Im doing what God told me to do. He said sing it.
MVRemix: Right.
Al Green: And thats what Im doing.
MVRemix: Lots of people have too much tradition and not enough substance.
Al Green: They forgot they got here some kind of way, and it wasnt reading the Bible.
MVRemix: Exactly.
Al Green: Make sure to put that in the interview. [Laughing]
MVRemix: What do you think about Hip-Hop gospel, like Kanye West with Jesus Walks?
Al Green: I think thats good. I heard the [song] Prayer by R. Kelly. The only thing they are doing is picking up on their roots and where they come from.
MVRemix: Why did you name the new album Everythings OK?
Al Green: Everythings OK, because in America some of our people go through so much hell, torment, and misunderstandings. Everythings revolving [around] sort of gang related stuff. Im saying Everythings OK. Only thing you gotta do is work it out, only thing you gotta do is try.
MVRemix: Do you think so-called gangsta rap focuses more on problems than solutions?
Al Green: Yeah, its sad. You know we and [other] people done made it across the Atlantic [Ocean] on the [slave] boat. It takes the strong to survive, making that trip across, packed in there like sardine. Then you have to stand up for three months in squalor, in urine and everything else. Only the strong survived [and] made that trip. Everybodys gone through it -- Jews gone through it, the Negroes gone through it. The people in Iraq gone through it. Everybodys gone through it, so I really dont take it to heart when black people start talking about how hard they had to do this. Im black and I had it hard too. I picked cotton, chopped cotton and everything else, but I still aint gonna let it get me down.
MVRemix: Right.
Al Green: Im gonna keep on truckin.
MVRemix: So Everythings OK
Al Green: God Almighty! Do you see this lady right here? Oh my God thats enough to get a preacher off his pew right there. This little lady got out this Mercedes boy, she had on some jeans and I guess she hurt them jeans. [Laughing]
MVRemix: Where are you?
Al Green: Im standing in front of the store looking at this woman walk back to her car. Now she got everything shaking.
MVRemix: Are you in New York?
Al Green: Naw, Im not in New York, Im in Memphis, Tennessee baby.
MVRemix: Your classics, like Love and Happiness and Lets Stay Together, are staples in the streets. What does the new album have for people who love that old Al Green sound?
Al Green: Good flow, thats what were doing. Al cant do no more than what Al can do.
MVRemix: Right.
Al Green: Al is doing Al. Alicia Keys, shes doing good. Tamia, shes doing good. Destinys Child, all of them doing good. Its just that when you get down to the stomp stomp and you really gonna do some bump bump, you gonna need the reverend -- and hes going to bring the thing on home. I am the minister of the Hip-Hop, R&B era. Im the preacher you [write about] and theres no other preacher out here like the Rev. Al Green. Im still down with the Hip-Hop RUN DMC and some other guys. I sat down with Snoop Dogg and he was like whats up Reverend Al! I am the preacher for this generation and these are our children thats doing this music. Theres no sense in jumpin up and down saying how bad it is or how good it is because they are our kids and we the ones that taught em. It aint no sense is us saying, Well, oh its just terrible. If it is, you pointing the finger at yourself and at what you did.
MVRemix: For the time that you were just specifically focusing on gospel music, there were reports of people trying to sneak into your service with tape recorders.
Al Green: Right.
MVRemix: So what do you do? Pat them down? How do you stop somebody from sneaking in service on Sunday morning and capturing a live performance from Al Green?
Al Green: Man they gonna sneak them tape recorders in there any kind of way and we cant stop them. While youre preaching or something, somebody will snap a picture just as sure as you born. So thats just the way it is. You put yourself out there at the church were its a public place for religious worship. Therefore, I really cant complain too much about it because they just love you. Its like the people from Ireland the other day. They said the only thing we came over here to do is just come in and be in the service with you cause we know how you sing R&B, but we want to see how you do in church -- if its [just as] graphic or emotional, heart wrenching. [Laughing]
MVRemix: Right.
Al Green: If God give me a gift, cant nobody take it. If God take it, cant nobody get it back.
MVRemix: What do you say to people who might have a problem with you doing secular music?
Al Green: They got here some kind of way. They mama and daddy wasnt reading the Bible [at the time].
MVRemix: What prompted you to stop singing secular music at the peak of your career?
Al Green: I was converted. I was actually born again. I was really converted. Some of these people say they were converted, but I dont know about that. God gave me the ministry of love and happiness and thats the ministry were carrying around. Everybody in our group knows were going to sing, but they know its a deeper meaning behind what we say. Im singin for yall -- to get yall something going on at three oclock in the morning. Im saying this for the public. They the ones that buy it. They [thinking of me] at the house with some chick at three in the morning. I mean [Laughing]
MVRemix: Its something they can relate to.
Al Green: I drew the picture for you to relate to it, but there is a deeper meaning behind the thing.
MVRemix: Do you think most people miss the meaning?
Al Green: A lot of them do. A lot of them miss the meaning on purpose. They miss the idea, but still we cant condemn them -- until they come to the knowledge. They may miss some of the meaning of it but until they do... [Pauses] Even the preacher had to notice that! Excuse me theres a fine young lady walking by here. Pardon me sir. [Laughing]
MVRemix: No problem. Have you ever considered doing something with a Hip-Hop artist?
Al Green: Absolutely I love it. I mean we planned it on the next album were writing now. We gonna have some other people on the album that share.
MVRemix: Rev. Al, this has been a sincere pleasure and honor talking to you today, sir.
Al Green: Bless my pasture. Man you keep on keeping on.
MVRemix: I cant wait to get to Memphis. Maybe Ill sneak in and catch one of your services.
Al Green: Come on out and dont forget your tape player. [Laughing]
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