— The Voice, The Legacy, The Truth
IN THE LUMINOUS UNIVERSE OF HOUSE MUSIC, WHERE RHYTHM IS THE HEARTBEAT AND SOUL IS THE PULSE, FEW VOICES ECHO AS TIMELESSLY AS ROBIN S. HERS IS THE SOUND THAT TURNED DANCE FLOORS INTO SANCTUARIES AND NIGHTCLUBS INTO CATHEDRALS OF EMOTION. WITH “SHOW ME LOVE,” SHE DIDN’T JUST CREATE A HIT—SHE BIRTHED A MOVEMENT, ONE THAT STILL VIBRATES THROUGH SPEAKERS AND SPIRITS THREE AND A HALF DECADES LATER.
NOW, AS ROBIN PREPARES TO TAKE THE STAGE FOR “I AM HOUSE – THE ORCHESTRATED EXPERIENCE”, HER WORDS ARE AS POWERFUL AS HER VOICE—HONEST, SOULFUL, AND CHARGED WITH DIVINE TRUTH. IN THIS RARE AND HEARTFELT CONVERSATION, SHE OPENS UP ABOUT PERFORMING WITH LIVE INSTRUMENTS, THE UNITY AND RESILIENCE WITHIN THE HOUSE COMMUNITY, THE LONG JOURNEY TOWARD RECOGNITION AND THE DIVINE INSPIRATION THAT FUELS HER EVERY NOTE.
WHAT UNFOLDS IS NOT JUST AN INTERVIEW—IT’S A TESTIMONY. A STORY OF FAITH, HUMILITY AND ENDURANCE. A LOVE LETTER TO THE GENRE SHE HELPED DEFINE AND TO THE GENERATIONS STILL MOVED BY HER MUSIC.
Hi, Robin! You have one of the most defining voices of house music on the planet. What does it mean to you to perform in “I Am House”, and it’s orchestrated? It’s really different for you.
It’s not different. It really is not. Because when I am overseas, I have done the orchestra before. So it is not new to me, it is true to me.
I come from a live band situation. When I was singing with R&B groups, I became very, very used to the instruments. As a matter of fact, I prefer live instruments over a track.
I actually don’t blame you. You have a great voice, so you should sing live. But the lineup for this event is great. You have Crystal Waters, CeCe Peniston…so many icons sharing a stage with you. What is it like sharing a stage with so many fellow stars?
I love it. I did a slight little post and in it, I said, “We are important. We matter. We give great shows.” Because we are never really invited to any of the major parties or major events.
Why do you think that is? You guys are fabulous. That’s crazy.
Well, I don’t know what the real world reason is behind it. For a long time we were not validated. We had to validate ourselves. It’s common knowledge. House was underground for a long time. And it’s crazy because the ones making six and seven figures, they were the ones sweating their perms and stuff out and their clothes out back in the day. But now, they don’t do that because that’s not the music they listen to. Unless they are in the confines of their home, where no one can see them. However, once in a blue moon, we will get invited to a Grammy party. We never get invited to present. The major things that happen in the world, we don’t get mentioned. We get overlooked a lot. So we have to lift each other up. We have to hold each other up in prayer. We have to lift each other up when we are on stage. This is the sad part about it. I love my R&B peers and I love the DJs, but we get overlooked–but we make the soundtracks to other people’s lives and they use our stuff to base a dance record off of. We are never given credit. So it is important for us to uplift one another. To praise one another. To congratulate one another. And to love one another because we’re not getting it from our other peers. For a long time, I was called “the chick that sang house”. My name. I didn’t have a name. That’s from the R&B world. Oh, that’s that chick that sings house.
House music often carries messages of love, empowerment and resilience. What personal message do you hope that your fans will hear that night?
God. The power of God. The love of God. My songs are messages in a bottle. It is up to the individual to figure out what the message is.
How does it feel to remain such a powerful influence in house music? Many of your fans have grown up with your music. New ones are introduced to it through remixes and viral trends. How does that feel to you?
That’s the first time somebody said I was an influence. I’m honored. I’m humbled, yet I’m honored that people feel that way about me. That’s why I try to carry myself in the most humblest way that I possibly can. Humility will always have its place in my life. Because I remember the trial and the toil and the nights that I was up wondering what my life was going to be like. I haven’t forgotten the lesson that I learned in this industry, which was, unfortunately, trust no one.
I think that is any music genre. Especially today.
It is sad. I said just the other day that this world is based on lies. The few of us who are not like that, and I say “us” because I am one of those. I feel like I’m an alien. I have no reason to lie. My stories are always the same. I’m going to tell my story. I’m not going to let anybody else have the pleasure of telling my story. I need to tell my story because I am the only one that can set the record straight.
So, looking at this event in November, do you see it as a celebration of nostalgia or do you see it as a bridge in discovering house music for the first time?
I think both. Because nostalgia is bringing back things that made you feel good and made you happy in your life. So, yes, I think that with the generations that may partake in this event, they will know where the real music came from. You hear “Show Me Love” in just about every song, but you don’t know the history of “Show Me Love”. So I think this is a perfect bridge to introduce the youngins to the nostalgic music.
Tell me the story behind “Show Me Love”.
It’s a long story. I was with a band. and a friend of mine by the name of Shelley Govan came to hear me sing, as I had been performing with this band for years since I was 15. They told me that they think they might have a song for me. Now, mind you, I was not doing dance music or house music or whatever they want to call it. The closest I had ever gotten to sing music like that was “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and Donna Summer’s “Last Dance”. You are talking to someone who was strictly R&B. I did cover songs. Anita Baker, Phyllis Hyman, Layla Hathaway, there’s one more person, but they were all alto singers. So when I heard “Show Me Love”, I was like, “Oh, no, this is not me. Nope, can’t do it. Who is moving their mouth that fast? Not me.” I would go to clubs and dance to the dance music, but I never imagined me being a part of that community. They gave me the tape. It was a male singing it. I took it home and I was like, “Oh, no, I don’t think so. So I took it back and I said, “This is not me and I don’t want to waste your time. This is not who I am and I’m not doing it.” They asked me to just take it home and really just listen to it. Mind you, this is the second time I did and I brought it back to the studio and they asked me what I thought. And I said, “I don’t want to waste your time. This is not me.” “Okay, one more time. Take it home and take it apart.” So I took it home and I took it apart, word for word. Try to see where I can infuse my personal life into it. I could, but on the other hand, I really didn’t want to sing this fast music. I was stuck on singing fast music. So I took it home and I digested it and I went back and I said, “Okay, I’ll give it a try. But I don’t know how you’re going to like it.” So I did a rough copy of it. It was real rough. When I heard my playback, I was like “No, no, I don’t like this.” They kept saying to just give it a chance. I didn’t want to give it a chance. I didn’t like it. We went back and forth for a while. Then it was time to record. So I spent a weekend in a studio. I literally slept on the couch. Got up in the morning and went downstairs into the studio. We just started recording a bunch of songs. “Show Me Love” was the first song. At this point, because I had been running back and forth since I lived on Long Island and the studio was in the city…running back and forth, I got sick. I got sick the night before, but I came in and I told him “I don’t know how this is going to work out. I don’t feel good, my throat is raspy, I’m just not feeling well.” Now, mind you, I’m 63 right now. I definitely sounded different when I was younger. My voice was stronger and through all the years of singing, it’s gotten weaker. Anyway, I did the song and I thought “I’m just going to sing this song from the bottom of my toes because all I want to do is go back to sleep.” I had the flu. It turned out to be okay, but it was a situation where I was sick when I sang “Show Me Love”. So, when it came out, it came out different. The song came out like an R&B type thing. The original one was more like R&B and it didn’t do well. Because it was competing against the likes of Toni Braxton, SWV, it was competing against all of those producers and all of those things and all of those engineers that worked on this song. So they sent it overseas to Champion Records. Champion Records didn’t do anything with it. As a matter of fact, they shelved it. It was a divine intervention with StoneBridge. He was looking for a deal and they told him to pick something off the shelf and see what he could do with it. And he came up with that beat that everyone is using now in their songs. So that’s the history. What StoneBridge did was a remix. The remix became the major song. And the major song got pushed under the rug somewhere.
This was a great interview. Is there anything else that you would like to add that I didn’t ask you?
Many thanks to all of the support that I have received over the years. It’s been 35 years. I just received the notification yesterday that “Show Me Love” was 35 yesterday. It’s been 35 years that this song has been in existence. From the people who bought the cassette tapes to the people who bought the album to the people who bought the CDs to the DJs to the record label. To everyone. It does not go unnoticed. It does not go unappreciated. Thank you so very much for everything that you have done to contribute to the success of Robin S. and “Show Me Love”. I promise in the years to come I will not let you down.
Robin S Photos By Delmaine Donson
