Case
Photo: Def Jam

Def Soul singer Case, whose Open Letter hits stores April 24, has been given a liberty most artists don't get: on-the-job training.

After selling more than a million copies of his Foxy Brown-featured "Touch Me Tease Me" (which first appeared on the soundtrack to "The Nutty Professor"), Case's 1996 self-titled debut flopped.

He was given the proverbial "one hit wonder" tag.

"It never really bothered me," Case, born Case Woodard, said with a smile. "I love to be the underdog. When people were saying that, I kinda liked that, because I knew what I had up my sleeve." Case's bag of tricks included a new, smoother musical direction (the first time out, he sang over many hip-hop flavored loops) and future hits, such as the nuptial anthem "Happily Ever After," which he was writing for his second LP, 1999's Personal Conversation. "I was the first to get signed to Def Soul," Case said of the Def Jam subsidiary whose roster includes Sisqó, Musiq Soulchild and Kelly Price. "That's why my relationship with them is different. As they messed up, I messed up. We grew together. Now I'm at the space where I wanna be, as far as the music that I'm doing, and they're where they supposed to be, as far as the business side of it." On his latest project, Case's comfort level was the highest it's been.

"[The first album] wasn't me at all," said Case, who grew up in Brooklyn and Mount Vernon, New York. "I had my vision of what I wanted to do, then I had this person's vision, and this person's vision. What happens is, you end up losing what you're trying to do. The second album, I had a little bit of that, but not as much. That's why I look at this as my first album. Def Jam literally gave me the money and said, 'Don't come back till you're finished.' When it goes like that, whether the album goes good or bad, you have nobody to blame." Just as his second LP does, Open Letter finds Case addressing the people he's known most intimately. "I didn't really have a game plan going into this album," he said. "I had the title of the album maybe four or five months before we started. I wanted it to be a whole bunch of letters to specific people. Instead of mailing the letters and mailing them, I put 'em on the CD, so everybody could hear them. It wasn't bashing nobody like, 'I'ma get you.' It was just like you're in a relationship and something might happen, and you might not [say] everything you want to say." On "Love of My Life," Case sings about the one that got away because of not being able to communicate. "It was this girl I was dealing with, you could tell she liked me and wanted to get with me," said the singer, who credits fellow Mount Vernon native, Al B. Sure, for helping him develop his songwriting and music arranging skills. "I was mature enough to handle it then, but it was just something about that situation. Neither one of us knew how to move on it. I liked her and wanted to get with her, but I was scared to say the wrong things. She was scared. It stayed there until we drifted apart." Case, who used to date Mary J. Blige, is seeing his heartache pay dividends as the album's first single, "Missing You," is garnering heavy spins on the radio. His second single, "Not Your Friend" (whose video will be shot in Los Angeles on April 6 and 7) is a little livelier and more uptempo. The cut finds his girlfriend's girlfriend trying to have an affair. Tim & Bob, who contributed five tracks to the album, produced both of those tracks. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and the Gap Band's Charlie Wilson also help out; Case is so close to "Uncle Charlie" that he has Lil Gapper tattooed on his arm, signifying his honorary membership in the group.

Case will promote his album with a tour starting April 8 in Austin, Texas, and winding up in San Diego on June 2.

Case tour dates, according to his publicist:

• 4/8 - Austin, TX @ University of Texas
• 4/9 - Houston, TX @ Arena Theater
• 4/20 - Lubbock, TX @ West TX Canyon Amphitheatre
• 4/21 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Center
• 4/22 - New Orleans, LA @ Lakefront Arena
• 4/26 - Miami, FL @ Sunrise Theatre
• 4/28 - Atlanta, GA @ Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre
• 4/29 - Nashville, TN @ Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre
• 5/2 - New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
• 5/4 - TBA
• 5/9 - Detroit, MI @ Fox Theater
• 5/10 - Moline, IL @ Mark of Quad Cities
• 5/12 - Columbia, MO @ Hearne's Arena
• 5/13 - Springfield, IL @ Prairie Capital Convention Center
• 5/16 - Washington, DC @ Constitution Hall
• 5/19 - Hartford, CT @ Connecticut Expo Center
• 5/20 - Pittsburgh, PA @ I.C. Light Amphitheatre
• 5/25 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theater
• 5/26 - Los Angeles, CA @ Universal Amphitheater
• 5/27 - Santa Clara, CA @ Great American Theme Park
• 6/2 - San Diego, CA @ Coors Amphitheater

• K-Ci & JoJo
• Jon B.
• Dave Hollister
• Case

Singer/songwriter/producer Jon B. plans to say farewell to the silky smooth R&B foundation he laid with his "Cool Relax" album in favor of what he calls a "classic soul, hip-hop" sound.

The artist formerly known as Jon B. has formed a group called Jack Herrera with members of the band he recently toured with. According to Jon, the band already has 14 songs done, and hopes to have an album out within two months. He also said that the band will film its first video, for the track "I Get High On You," within the coming weeks.

"Most of the album's done. Right now we're just waiting on collaborations," Jon told MTV News.

He had carved out a high profile spot for himself both as a songwriter (on Tupac's "Are U Still Down"), and as a solo R&B artist (with his single "Cool Relax"). However, he told MTV News that he decided on this change of pace at least in part "to take a step back from where my direction was going as far as the way the record company was marketing me."

"It's a very, very kind of classic soul, hip-hop, more earthy type vibes rather than being commercialized R&B type vibes, which is more or less what I think the Jon B. project was putting out was more commercial type music, which is cool too, but that's only one half of what I do," Jon said of the reasons behind his project. "Lyrically I like to get deeper and musically I like to show different sides.

"It gives me a chance to just kick back and do what's most natural," he added.

• Jon B.

With his fall tour set to kick off on September 16 in Omaha, Nebraska, R&B singer Jon B. is set to release a new double A-side single of "I Do," backed with a remix of "Cool Relax," featuring an appearance by Gang Starr's Guru.

After collaborating with the likes of Tupac Shakur and Jay-Z, Jon B. is used to sharing the control booth with a rapper, but admits that working with Guru was a little different than the sessions he's used to.

"Guru came in at five in the morning," Jon B. explained to the MTV Radio Network, "and he re-wrote [his verse] just like over and over. I was amazed to see that he just really wanted to get it right and put something down that he could feel great about and that would represent him right." [150k Audio]

Jon B., who just completed his own remix of rapper W.C.'s "Better Days," will release his new "I Do/Cool Relax" single to radio right as his tour gears up for a series of dates in September and October.

• Gang Starr
• Jon B.

Afeni Shakur hosted a celebration last weekend in Atlanta to mark what would have been the birthday of her late son, Tupac.

Among the artists turning out to mark the memory of Tupac was Jon B., who helped Tupac write and record "Are U Still Down." Jon B. recently reflected on their creative union and Tupac's easygoing nature during the recording session

"Walking in there, I'm like, this is kind of way out," Jon B. told MTV News. "So I'm in there, and there's like 25 Death Row people, everybody's in there just chilling, and I'm doing the song. You either feel comfortable or you don't, and I think he went out of his way to make me feel like, 'Do your thing. I'm digging your stuff, so do your thing the best you can.' The song got written and recorded in like three hours. [1MB QuickTime] I was extremely comfortable and feeling it."

Jon B. has since scored a hit in his own right with "They Don't Know" from his sophomore album, "Cool Relax," which also features "Are U Still Down."

• Jon B.
• Tupac