Bmore Fab! correspondent Arli recently sat down with the soul singer Bilal while he was in town performing last week at Ram’s Head Live (20 Market Place). She has the scoop on his latest album and what he has planned for 2010. Read below for the entire interview with the sexy, freckled-faced, dread-locked singer.

Watching the singer during his sound check before a concert at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore- he is a perfectionist at heart.  He runs through the pitch and sounds of the instruments over and over until they are at his liking. His vocals are just like I remember…soulful but with an edge. He is dressed in slim jeans, half laced combat boots and trench coat and scarf…just right for this chilly Baltimore weather but adaptive to his unique bohemian flair.  His signature dreads are a thing of the past as he now sports a low-cut mini Mohawk.  Before his show, I sat down with the soft spoken singer to discuss his hiatus and his upcoming 2010 album Air Tight’s Revenge.

Arli: It’s been a long time since the released your first album in 2002, What have you been working on since then?

Bilal: Well, I did have an album that I was working on in ‘06 and it got bootlegged.  I’ve been touring off the bootleg record because a lot of the stuff got leaked on LimeWire and we started getting mad gigs through that.  Then I started to move off of the label I was on [Interscope] and into the situation I’m on now, that’s what I’ve been doing really… and working on projects with other people.

Arli: How do you feel about being grouped in the “Neo Soul” genre of music?  Do you ever want to branch out and do something else?

Bilal: I think “Neo Soul”- that title sucks!  I’ve said that since I first came out and doing interviews, I was like, “I’m not Neo Soul. Stop calling me that!”  Not because I don’t like Neo Soul. I just feel like it’s a box and I’ve  always been into making music that kinda defies all of that. I don’t like any type of box or boundaries because I try to make music that everybody can get into; it doesn’t really matter the demographic, whether you are white or black or anything like that.

Arli: One of your most heartfelt songs on the first album is “Sometimes”.  Can you talk a little bit about how that song came into existence?

Bilal: Through a journal entry.  I used to be really, really into keeping a journal and “Sometimes” came out of that and by the time I showed up into the studio, we came up with that song real organically. [I] just picked the mic up and you know we started playing. I started singing just to see what comes out…I just started to freestyle.

Arli: Besides your journal, what else motivates you to make music?

Bilal: I haven’t kept a journal in a long time. It’s been almost like a few months and it kinda died off.  I’m a father now and I’m a family man, so life has really taken over what I talk about.  When I go write songs, it’s about whereever I’m at right there; that’s what I start to write about…inspiration is all around me.

Arli: Your stage presence and energy never gets old and it just skyrockets like you are in another place. Where do you go mentally when you are performing live?

Bilal: I just try to go to a free place where I’m not really thinking about it anymore. It’s not really contrived.  I just try and be free; not really thinking about anything or being premeditated… I just try to let go.

Arli: Can you tell us a little bit about your upcoming album Air Tight’s Revenge?

Bilal: Well it’s coming out independently on a label called Plug Research and it’s a cool record. It’s going more into the path that I’ve been trying to niche for a while now.  I really don’t like to describe it… it’s an alternative type of feeling to me that means it’s a mixture of a lot of different types of music. It’s got heavy soul influence because that’s what I’ve been doing [and] a lot of jazz influence.  We incorporated a lot of rock Influences as well as electronic- so it’s mixing up the gumbo a little more and sprinkled a little hot sauce.

Arli: Can you give us some insight on why you titled it “Air Tight’s Revenge”?

Bilal: [Screams] Because these fools were trying to hold me down! [laughs] And I got out! I was like Dolomite Returns. So it’s kinda like the Blaxploitation titles…You ever heard of Donald Goines or Iceberg Slim Books? It’s kinda like that.

There is a lot of political, social type of topics on this album. There is not a lot of love stories.  A lot of the songs are dark.  It’s about “I’m fucking broke and the economy sucks”…I’ve got songs on there about being confused about spirituality and religion.

That’s one of the main reasons that I’ve gotten away from the Neo Soul bag because you get stuck in the same he/she conversation [and] those same type of cadences. I like to have a forum where I can speak almost like Bob Marley would. He could talk about almost anything…

Arli: A lot of independent artists are starting to diversify their brand.   Are you producing or doing any vocal recording/arranging for other artists? Will we see you stepping outside of “Bilal the Artist” into “Bilal the Business Man”?

Bilal: Mmmm…Yeah, I work on other people’s projects here and there; I’ve always done that.  With Erykah Badu, I’ve done some background arrangements on there. Solange’s record, I did some on there but I do it every now and then.  I’m not a business man, this is art to me so If I can get into a situation where I still feel like I’m being artistic with it… that’s cool.  I’m not good at forcing that vibe.

Arli: What is your dream collaboration?  Is there anyone you want to collaborate with that you haven’t worked with yet?

Bilal: I’ve mashed it up with a lot of people.  It would be dope to do something with Kanye West or Tom Yorke.

Arli: Congrats on the recent Grammy Nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance on your collaboration with Robert Glasper’s “All Matters”.  How does that feel to now have that “Grammy Nominated” in front of Bilal?

Bilal: I don’t know! (laughs) You know it’s nice that you can get a nod like that but you know I do music for spiritual purposes first. As long as I know I’m in a situation where I’m getting that out of me and I have a release, you know I’m cool. You know I don’t really wanna get caught up on winning prizes and stuff like that. It’s really dope because it opens up a lot of new doors but for me I’m really selfish with this shit; I’m trying to satisfy myself (laughs).

Arli: Where will people be able to find you over the next couple of months?

Bilal: I won’t really have a tour until the label gets ahold of the record.  Every since I’ve been bootlegged, NO ONE hears the music until I’m done.  Everything is at the studio until I’m finished and I’ll turn it over to the label.  [The label] is upset with me because they haven’t heard anything and I haven’t made a copy of anything.  The only time I get to listen to it is on my iPod; I’m the only one that can listen to it so if you wanna listen to it you have to fly to me and listen on my iPod, so it’s kinda crazy.

Arli: For those people who remember your first single “Soul Sister” and may not have kept up with you since then, what do you want to say to them in regards to the new album?

Bilal: If you didn’t really keep up with me in this gap period it’s kinda like, “Hi introducing me again…this is me.”  It’s like a re-introduction really. You take it or leave it. It’s almost like I’m opening up the vibe again.