Via Blackvoices:
Among the late 1980s New Jack Swing generation of R&B singers, many of the genre’s chart-toppers have had tumultuous careers.
Some suffered from drug addiction and scandal and others just haven’t been able to make a hit record since.
Keith Sweat, however, has managed to diversify his entertainment ventures and is poised to continue his evolution in the coming months.
Since leaving his job as a Wall Street broker and launching his singing career in 1987 with his debut ‘Make It Last Forever,’ the 48 year-old Harlem native has stood the test of time – effortlessly making the transition into radio, television and still finding time to release some new music.
“I think in order to stay in the game you have to stay relevant and not be pigeon holed in being an artist and that’s what I do. I always had the mindset to do other things than just sing,” he shared.
“I produced and wrote and that was always my mindset,” Sweat added. “I was never like I’m just going to do music and go on stage perform and be happy with that.”
For the past three years, the ‘I Want Her’ crooner has been able to broaden his fan base as the host of a nationally syndicated radio program called ‘The Keith Sweat Hotel,’ which currently broadcasts on over thirty radio stations around the country.
“That’s a good look for me,” he said. “It’s just fun [and] I get to basically talk to my listeners and answer their questions or and I get to network in a different way and see how my music has touched them through the course of my career. It also allows me to be sexy on radio.”
Sweat’s next big project is the upcoming reality show, ‘Keith Sweat’s Platinum House,’ which will air on the new BET channel, Centric. On the series, he has the daunting task of trying to reestablish 90s R&B group Dru Hill as the platinum sensations that they once were. He moves the quartet into a house to start the rebuilding process, but, Sisqo, Nokio and Jazz have a lot of unresolved issues to work out, in addition to getting adjusted to their newest member Tao.
“I picked Dru Hill because I felt like they were controversial out of all the groups and I felt like with controversy it normally sells records, so I think It could help them climb to the top,” Sweat shared.
