Bilal Oliver did cut his chops singing in the church, but was also a classically-trained performer capable of singing opera in seven languages who loved freeform jazz.
In the 12 years since, Bilal has failed to really capitalise on that early promise and not much has been heard of him. But Australian fans will soon get to hear his exceptional voice as he visits the country for the first time showcasing material from new album A Love Surreal.
Speaking from his home in Brooklyn, the laid-back Bilal remembers how his love for music was formed when his father used to sneak him inside the jazz clubs of his childhood home, Philadelphia. “I used to have to sit in the back where the cigarette machine was. They had a curtain they could put over me just in case the police came. I remember sitting back there watching all of these different bands who really intrigued me a lot. I liked the way the cats dressed, the way they talked. I got to see Terence Blanchard, Kenny Kirkland, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts. I was 13-years-old – I made up my mind then that I wanted to be in music in some kind of way,” he says.
Stints with various bands at high school followed before Bilal met many of the musicians that were carrying the torch for soul in the 21st century and eventually became part of their loose collective, The Soulquarians. “I met Ahmir (‘Questlove’ Thompson, of The Roots) through jam sessions in New York City. Ahmir used to come to that jam session, Erykah Badu. Everybody. Common, Mos Def. And from there I would go to the jam sessions in Philadelphia and meet more people. I would go up and sing. I just kept showing up to all of them,” he laughs.
One of Bilal’s earliest mentors was fellow Soulquarian, the late hip hop super-producer J Dilla. “Oh man, I just learnt his fearlessness, his charisma,” says Bilal. “He had this kind of way where he made everything look easy and he didn’t really have any boundaries when he was creating. I’ve seen Dilla play bass, guitar, drums and he taught himself how to play them all. He was really inspiring.” Bilal talks about his departed friend with a deep sense of gratitude. “He opened my mind to just exclude rules. Coming out of school you think there’s a rule for everything. After working with him I threw all of the rules out. Do whatever your heart says, y’know?”
After the commercial and critical success of his first album, Bilal was eager to experiment further on his next. “On the first album I was allowed to produce but I had to have kind of a ‘big brother’ watching over me,” he says. “This time I wanted to produce on my own and that started some friction.” A series of drawn-out rows with label Interscope ensued. Interscope eventually rejected the album, Love For Sale, which was subsequently bootlegged and leaked on the internet. Does Bilal have any conspiracy theories about the leak? “Hmmm, you know, I have a few. Of course, I’ve tossed that around, thinking maybe it was an inside job.”
Bilal admits that for a brief time he wondered whether he would ever release his own material again, which made the completion of his 2010 LP Airtight’s Revenge all the more satisfying, particularly when it earned him a Grammy nomination. “It really just fuelled me to do what I wanted to do because there was no filter for the music on that album,” he says. Now Bilal is back to somewhere near where he feels he should be at this point in a difficult career, with a third album that he is pleased with and that he hopes will open him up to more fans. “I wanted to make an album that was more accessible. On Airtight I got a lot out. So, on this record I was in a warmer place and in a different kind of vibe. On this record I’m still speaking about passion and I’ve just focused a lot of it on love stories,” he says.
Looking back on a decade and a half as recording artist, Bilal makes no secret of the fact that has spent much of it frustrated at the industry’s gearing towards making money. But he’s philosophical about his experience. “It’s the story of an artist,” he concludes matter-of-factly.
BY DAVID WILD
