Mario is back with his brand new album “Glad You Came” which was released on his label New Citizen along with Epic Records. The album is the follow up to “Dancing Shadows” which came out in 2018. YouKnowIGotSoul had a chance to talk to to the R&B icon about the creation of this album which he worked on extensively with super songwriter James Fauntleroy. We talked to Mario about the inspiration behind the songs, the creative process along with his partnership with James Fauntleroy.
YouKnowIGotSoul: We’re definitely going to talk a lot about your new album. I know that is so exciting for you.
Mario: It is. I’m really proud of it. I’m really excited for this journey. I’m more excited just for fans to have their hands on it, have it in their cars, have it in their living rooms, and their showers, wherever everybody at, the clubs, wherever you at. I’m just happy that people will really be able to digest it now.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Yeah, they’ll be glad they came.
Mario: Absolutely and even more glad they stayed.
YouKnowIGotSoul: We’re going to take it back just a little bit before we talk about your new album. Back in 2002, there was this movie that came out called “Like Mike”. I was a young teenager. You were a teenager. And about five songs in, there was a song called “Put Me On”.
Mario: Oh, wow. I forgot that song was on that soundtrack.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Yes. I will say it has been 22 years since then. You are still here and you are still making incredible music and locked in ever since. So thinking about 22 years of a career, what goes through your mind to think like “Wow, I’m still here and I’m still being incredible?”.
Mario: I’m really grateful for my fans and the support. I just thank God that he gave me the knowledge, the wisdom, the energy, the experiences, everything that he gave me so that I could continue to it with the same passion that I had when I first did my first album. And yeah, it’s just magical. I believe in magic, and it’s real.
YouKnowIGotSoul: It absolutely is. So your new album, “Glad You Came”, is coming out Friday, December 13th. I got a chance to listen to it. I’m loving it.
Mario: Thank you so much.
YouKnowIGotSoul: No problem. It sounds nostalgic, obviously with a more mature voice now, but then still feeling fresh. What inspired you during the creative process for this album? How did you balance honoring your classic sound with a new era?
Mario: The inspiration just came from my intentions of wanting to be understood as an artist, as a person, as a man. I don’t really put a lot of myself out there, so I felt like the music needed to represent who I am, to a certain degree, emotionally, confidence-wise, vulnerability, and show vocal growth, but also just intellectually, how I look at communicating with women. I feel like the music is a representation of how I am in real life. I wouldn’t say I’m a poet, but I would definitely say because I felt misunderstood growing up, I use as one of my main frontline sources of communication. I use it very directly, and I use it in a way where I try to, even in my personal life, say things that really give people a vivid understanding of my intentions. And so I try to, and this was a conversation I had with James Fauntleroy, who executive produced the album. I try to make sure that that translates in the music. And so that was my intention. And musically, really just working with some of my favorite people who are close to me who are committed to being in the studio because a lot of times these days, there’s so much going on in the game.
Everybody’s trying to get placements and do this [and that] and it’s hard to really lock down people and have them focus on your project unless you have your guys that are assigned to you. And I’m still working on signing people to New Citizen. So a lot of the guys who do something here are friends of mine who I am fans of. So yeah, we just wanted to create something that was timeless, nostalgic, like you said, and something that made people feel good about R&B and take them to places. And hopefully the same feeling they got when they listened to my first album, but just a more mature version of it.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You mentioned working a lot with James Fauntleroy on this album. Can you give us a little bit of insight? Like, those studio conversations, how did they go?
Mario: Honestly, We’re similar in that we’re very cerebral people. He’s a super creative. The things that he does outside of music is incredible if you look at what he’s doing. But there’s a very ethereal and spiritual side to making music. And I feel like we both appreciate that side of it and pull energy from that side of it. And it’s like, I’m sure, how creatives that make cartoons and make Disney movies and Marvel feel about creating that art when they create superheroes. I feel like I’m an R&B superhero. You know what I’m saying? That can do so many things with my voice. I try to just create a space where reality and imagination merges. And so you have that contrast through the music when you listen to records like “You 101” or “Glad You Came”, “I’m Sorry” Or “Play Fair. All these records had these so many dimensions in them. And so we talk about that type of stuff. We talk about how energy works with music. James, honestly, I talk more. James is more like, cerebral. So he’ll digest things and then he’ll just go in the studio and manifest it. I’m like, let’s talk through it. I want you to know how I want it. That’s how I am. He’s more just, it’s internal for him. And so that’s the difference. So I feel like it created a really strong balance.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You said a lot within the lyrics of this album, one of the songs that I really liked was “Love Ain’t Perfect”. And you said the things that you say through music is the way to get to know you, right? What would you say was one of the songs on the album or all of them that told the best story of Mario as an artist or as a man?
Mario: That’s a good question. With Where I am in my life right now, I would say “I’m Sorry”, “You 101”, “Glad You Came” and “Give It To You”. Just lyrically, I just feel like I’m in a good place as far as my emotional intelligence, as far as my communication, as far as my intentions. I would say it starts with intentions, right? Whereas though, if you were to talk to me five, six years ago, it was more like I was very in the selfish space. I got a song on my album called “Selfish”, but that song is still relevant because I feel like it’s something that we continue to work on ourselves, right? But yeah, right now I’m in a space of like, “Okay, my actions have consequences. And yes, I may be Mario, but that has nothing to do with my personal life. And I try not to take who I am outside, home”. So yeah, I would say those records really represent my emotional intelligence and awareness of who I am and how my my actions affect other things in my world and my karma, of course.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Of course. That’s actually something that a lot of people don’t really think about for artists, that there’s the artist and then there’s the person. A lot of people have this idea that the artist is the person, and a lot of times that’s not the case. So how do you compartmentalize those two things?
Mario: It’s daily work, man. I think first you’ve got to decide what’s important to you. I decide what’s important to me, and then I decide how I’m going to protect it. It’s a daily thing because every day shifts and we all still growing. I’m a discrete person, right? So I know that if I’m outside, there’s certain things I’m going to be paying attention to so that it doesn’t look a certain way, you feel me? Or people can’t assume anything or just put it on the internet and be like, oh, he was doing this, this, and that. And then people run away. No, I make sure because I know it can happen, right? But just paying attention to how you’re moving. Just move with intention. You feel me? If you try and be a slime, you’re a slime. If you try and be a good person and be focused and not hurt hearts, then you don’t do that. You know what I’m saying? You just got to decide who you want to be and have the discipline to be it.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You like that word intention. Was that your word for 2024?
Mario: Yeah, it is. It’s real.
YouKnowIGotSoul: So what was your intention with calling the album “Glad You Came”. Obviously, that is one of the singles, and it’s the title track. So where did that come from?
Mario: There’s so many different levels to it. But when we first did the record, “Glad You Came”, it really was about the metaphor of a woman having an orgasm and being pleased without the selfishness of like, “I got mine, you should have got yours”. It’s more just about letting a woman know in a clever way that her pleasure matters to me. How you feel in this experience matters to me. And it’s not just about the physical part. There’s also a mental part. There’s also a spiritual part to it. And you’re going to be glad you came because there’s more than just the physical. There’s so much more to explore. I talk about that in the second verse of that record. The album title “Glad You Came” is an invitation more so to the world and people who are fans of my music and have been following my journey, who’s been on this journey with me. I’m glad you came on this journey with me. And again, even more glad you stayed.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You do have things coming up that people are going to be glad they stayed for, which is your tour with Mary J. Blige and Neyo. How excited are you to be going on tour?
Mario: I’m excited to share this album live with a few songs I will be performing. Of course, I got to perform the classics, but really just showing growth and exploring the creativity on stage and connecting because I feel like over these past few years, a lot has been going on in the world. Obviously, the internet and having social media is one thing, but actually being on the road and being able to touch each city, all the energy is different in every city, and being able to touch my fans and have this moment with them with an actual new project. I haven’t put an album out since 2018, so this is going to be a great experience and just this new era. Also just proud to be on stage with Ne-Yo and Mary. Of course, she’s a queen, and I grew up listening to her music, and still to this day, I play her classics and I play her new music too. She’s the first artist that I went to a concert, and as a man, I almost let one out. She makes you feel like if the girl that told you you broke her heart wasn’t enough, Mary going to let you know what she felt like. You feel me? She make you feel what a woman’s emotion really is, and it’s like “Damn, it’s real”. Her music just hit different.
YouKnowIGotSoul: It definitely does.
Mario: I’m definitely going to have some tissue after every show.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You better bring some tissue. You’re going to be with her for a while!
Mario: I’m looking forward to it for sure.
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