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Frankie J Brings Obsession, Irv Gotti To New LP -- But Not At The Same Time

Mario Winans, Baby Bash, Lil' Flip also guest on 'The One,' due March 8.

There's a fine line between being in love and being obsessed, and Frankie J crosses it with his new single, "Obsession."

"It's about a guy who's obsessed with a girl," Frankie said. "He's been seeing her for quite awhile and he thinks it's love but, at the same time, he's knows it dangerous for him because she's playing mind tricks on him.

"It's a cover of a song done by a group named Aventura," he added. "The original is a bachata version -- it has a very Latin-polka feel to it. When my manager brought the song to me, he asked me if I could change it to make it a pop/R&B song. He gave it to Happy Perez, who produced [Baby Bash's] 'Suga Suga,' and we basically flipped it and did our own thing to it."

In addition to re-teaming with Perez, Frankie also reconnected with Baby Bash for the song that serves as the first single from his forthcoming second LP, The One, which is due March 8. The two first connected when Frankie sang the hook for "Suga Suga."

"We've known each other for a couple of years now," Baby Bash said of the collabo. "We did 'Suga Suga' and it took off, so our chemistry is 100 percent. So when he asked me to be on this record, I felt privileged to add my little saucy flow to let people know what's up. Right now, Frankie and I could do a whole album in a week because we work so well together."

For the female lead in the "Obsession" video, directed by Gil Green and Dayo Harewood, Frankie enlisted video model du jour Vida Guerra. The video features the two in a variety of compromising positions in the backseat of a car and in a bathtub.

"My manager brought her to my attention," Frankie recalled. "And when we decided to go with 'Obsession,' I knew Vida would be the girl."

For her part, Vida says "Obsession" is something many people can relate to. "He's thinking about her, and he's not sure if he's just obsessed with her or if he's in love with her," she said. "It's something that most men go through."

With "Obsession" already getting attention at radio and a video on the way, Frankie looked to the Inc. honcho Irv Gotti to produce his second single. "The One," a duet with 3LW's Adrienne Bailon, will serve as the next offering.

"He played me some tracks, and the one that stood out was 'The One,' " Frankie recalled. "The track was just incredible -- it was real commercial and real R&B. I started writing to it and I wrote the song in 30 minutes: We finished it then and there."

In addition to working with the aforementioned producers and artists, Frankie also worked with Lil' Flip, Play N Skillz and Bryan-Michael Cox on the album. And he collaborated with Mario Winans on two songs, "So Gangsta" and "Can't Say It's Love."

"On this record, I wanted to work with different people and just get a different feel and different vibe from the first album," Frankie said. "I wanted to get more urban, and get in more with bigger names. It's just better to work with people who are where you want to be, and Irv Gotti was just one of those people."

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