I Bet You Won't Say That. "Whatever, Watch!"
Interview with Songwriter Cri$tyle

A MariahDailyJournal Exclusive
Cri$tyle admits that life before the music biz was a lot slower. Born and raised in Atlanta to a musical family, Cri$tyle began harmonizing to Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight at 3-years-old. Now, she can boast that she's sat down with Mariah Carey and harmonized to "Can't Let Go"!

Mariah Daily Journal had the pleasure of exclusively interviewing Cri$tyle about her recent co-writing experiences with Mariah. She tells us who thought of singing about YouTube on "Touch My Body," divulges info on the four songs she contributed for E=MC², which track she thinks will be the "huge" record, and how they have developed a close friendship. If "Touch My Body" is any indication, Cri$tyle and Mariah's future released collaborations are going to blow us away!

Please tell us about yourself. What was life like for Cri$tyle before joining the music business. What kind of music influenced you growing up?
Wow! [laughs] Life for Cristyle before the music biz was a lot slower than it is now! I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I grew up listening to music. My mom sings, my dad sang, and my sister. My dad used to make us harmonize to old school records. I was like 3 years old holding down the alto note [laughs]. I remember hearing Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight in heavy rotation. When I got a little older, I started rehearsing to Mariah, Whitney, and Boyz II Men. I was singing every chance I got. Talent shows every week. But I grew up and realized I needed money so I got a few different jobs. My last job before joining the industry was at a hospital. Actually I was a Telephone Operator. That was until I got fired for writing songs on the job while I was supposed to be answering phones! I cried my eyes out, but if I didn't get fired, I would have never had the chance to do music full-time. So thank God they kicked me to the curb! [laughs]

How did you get into songwriting? How were you discovered? And how did you get signed by So So Def/EMI?
Well, to be honest, songwriting kinda came outta nowhere for me. I wrote my first song in the 3rd grade. It was horrible! [laughs] After that I started getting more interested in the songwriting process. Whenever I find something I can't do very well, it always seems to spark my interest. I start thinking like, "Why can't I do that?" so I kept writing until one day I realized, "Hey, I might be good at this." Once I got that in my head, I was on a mission. [laughs] I wanted the world to hear what I had to say and more so, I wanted the world to hear my "special" way of saying it. I started working with different producers and that introduced me to all types of writing styles. After about a year, I met my manager who put clarity to my little "writing spree." [laughs] Soon after, I caught the attention of Jermaine [Dupri] and Big Jon [Platt, EMI Publishing EVP] and the rest is history in the making!

How did Mariah hear of you, and what about your work piqued her interest?
Mariah heard of me from JD. He told Mariah he wanted her to meet/work with his new writer Cri$tyle. My manager and I were hoping he would put me in with her but Jermaine is one of those people who don't believe in handouts. He believes you have to work hard and earn everything in this biz. So I guess he felt like I had earned a shot. But there were no guarantees. He wasn't gonna write the song for me, or make MC like working with me. When we started working, the two of us (MC and I) were singing melodies and joking around with lyrics. The first song we did that night was "Cruise Control." I think the fact that we were both singing similar melodies and having such a fun time coming up with the lyrics made her comfortable working with me. And it made me comfortable with her also.

What was the writing process for your songs together?
The writing process was very relaxed. We would go in this little outside area overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes we would even take a stroll on the beach. Very much like a vacation. But that really helped us to vibe out and get a consistent "no pressure" atmosphere going. We would work really late some days. All the songs we wrote were straight collaboration. MC would play tracks she had gotten from different producers, and we'd pick the one that hit us at the time. A lot of times we'd come up with melody first, then try to get a concept, then lyrics. But there was no specific method with us. We just hung out and wrote hot records in the process. Ya gotta love that!

Who came up with the "YouTube" and "I will hunt you down" lines?
MC came up with the YouTube line and we were both joking around and came up with "I will hunt you down." I was like, "I bet you won't say that" and she was like, "Whatever, watch! [laughs] Hilarious!

What, if anything, surprised you most about meeting and working with Mariah? What was she like as a person?
The first thing I noticed about MC was how polite she was. I mean this is a legend we talkin' about! And she is the first legend I've ever met so I didn't know what to expect. I was sooo nervous when she walked in. She was like the center of attention but somehow she found time to say, "Hi, Cristyle" before I could even introduce myself. That just blew me away! I didn't even say, "Hi" back because I just knew she has to be talking to somebody else. She was so much fun to be around. We spent so much time laughing and quoting movies that I almost forgot we were working. She was so genuine and real! I couldn't believe how friendly she was. We have all these little inside jokes and words that only we know what they mean. I really found a new friend in Mariah and the best part about it is, she found a new friend in me too.

Was Mariah open to trying different ideas? Did you feel comfortable telling Mariah when you didn't like a direction she was heading in? How open was she to criticism?
Mariah was very open to new ideas. She loves to surprise her audience but at the same time she respects her fans enough to still remain the Mariah everybody loves. There was never an intense moment where I felt like I couldn't tell her how I felt about a lyric or melody. She has a suprisingly high level of respect for me and my talent so she was always asking what I thought of a line or note. She really wanted to make sure that the songs were perfect. We would write a verse then move on to the hook, and she may go back like an hour later and say, "Let's change this part." Perfection is a close friend of MC! [laughs]

Mariah usually works with big-named writers/producers, were you surprised you got to collaborate on FOUR songs? Were you upset that none of the reviews for "Touch My Body" mentioned you, just Tricky & The-Dream?
I was very shocked that she requested me after we had done the songs with JD. I got a call one day like, "Mariah wants to fly you in to work on the rest of the album." She treated me like royalty. We actually wrote about 8 or 9 songs together. Over a two-month period I was hanging with the star! Even got to help her pick out the bottle for her "M" fragrance, which is the bomb by the way! I wasn't upset about the reviews for the single not mentioning me. I had hung out with Tricky a few days before the song hit radio, and we were laughing, having a good time with some mutual friends; and I spoke to Dream on the phone the day "Touch My Body" hit. We were both congratulating each other. At the end of the day... I had the opportunity to work and become friends with someone who influenced my music tremendously. I couldn't ask for more. God is good!

What sort of things would you like to see Mariah try in the future?
I'd like to see a Mariah reality show! She's such a funny person. I would love for everybody to see how down-to-earth she is on a daily basis. Yea, that would be hot! They could call it "Mariah Daily"... starring MC, Jack and Lil JJ (her puppies).

Were you present when she was laying down her vocals? What was that recording process like?
I was there when she laid some of her vocals. She don't like to have people around for that process because she takes it very seriously, but I guess she felt comfortable 'round lil ol' me [laughs]. I would record the song first so we could hear it in its entirety and make any changes that we needed to make. Then MC would re-record it and add that special flare that only she can [laughs]. I actually had the opportunity to record a lotta background vocals on the album. We stuck very well together. I've been practicing to Mariah's voice for years, so I guess it's safe to say I was well prepared! The recording process was very relaxed, and simple. She didn't record in a big studio with all kinds of expensive equipment. It was just MC, me and her engineer in a small room at her house. Very low key. But when you have vocals like Mariah... you don't need all that other stuff.

What was your favorite Mariah song prior to meeting her?
Wow, I have so many! But I guess my all-time favorite would be... "Love Takes Time." I think that's one of the greatest songs of all-time. The cool thing about me and MC was the fact that we love to sing so much. We were always singing her old songs together. Can you imagine singing with her CD all through school, then one day finally meeting her and singing along with her live! It was amazing. We sang all her songs like "Butterfly," "Breakdown," ... "Can't Let Go"! We had like perfect harmony on that one. One day, I went on YouTube on my phone and pulled up her first Grammy performance - she sang "Vision of Love." We both watched it and she was laughing at how nervous she was [laughs] ... I'll never forget it!

What do you think of the 4 songs ("Touch My Body," "Cruise Control," "Heat" and "Lovin' You Long Time") you & Mariah wrote together. Can you describe each, and which is your favorite?
I think they are all "stone winners" (as Mariah would say), I love them all, I couldn't stop singing them in my head at first [laughs].


Who else have you written for? What are your current and upcoming projects?
I've written songs for Janet, Beyonce, Natasha Bedingfield, J. Lo and Brandy. Right now I have the first singles on Tiffany Evans ("I'm Grown") and Teyanna Taylor ("Google Me").

Do you think you will work with Mariah again?
I will definitely work with MC again... we talk all the time about how our friendship is bigger than just writing songs. So I wouldn't be surprised if we worked on all kinds of projects in the future... that's my homey!

Cri$tyle with Mariah and Jermaine Dupri

Major props go to Christal and Enchanted PR for facilitating this interview for us.