There probably isn’t a better title for R&B singer El DeBarge’s new project than “Second Chance.”
DeBarge served as the primary voice in the family
group DeBarge, which presided over R&B radio in the ’80s with songs
such as “I Like It,” “All This Love,” “Time Will Reveal” and “Rhythm of
the Night.” He pursued a solo career after he left the group.
But it has been eons since his last CD, “Heart, Mind
and Soul” in 1994. All fans have heard about him since then was news
about his struggles and legal dust-ups, including time served for drug
possession in 2008 and his long-running substance-abuse problems.
But an out of nowhere, career-rejuvenating appearance on this year’s BET Awards showed that fans are still clamoring for him.
“I was nervous about whether people would like me,
whether I was going to win or lose right there on that stage,” says
DeBarge, who performed his single, “Second Chance,” and more on the
telecast.
“I just didn’t know, but I was ready to do it. I
opened my mouth and hit the first note, and they were ready to receive
it. I went with it and used that energy for strength. I’m glad
everybody is embracing me. It would be a terrible thing to come back
and nobody wanted you to come back. I feel the love and attribute it to
the fact people want to feel good again.”
There was a time when DeBarge wasn’t feeling so good
himself, and coming back was one of the furthest things on his mind.
That was when he was on drugs, which for him was an up-and-down thing
for more than two decades.
“I didn’t know if I would come back. My head wasn’t
clear when I was on drugs. I just wanted to live,” says DeBarge, who
knew he was going down the wrong path from the day he took his first
hit.
“My first words were, ‘Uh huh, I shouldn’t have done
this.’ But it got progressively worse, hit after hit after hit. Did I
know I would take 22 years to get off of it? I had no idea. I’d been on
and off and on and off, and I’m here today by the grace of God.”
DeBarge has been off of drugs for nearly two years and says he’ll be sober for the rest of his life.
His new CD, which he recorded in April with producers including Jimmy Jam and
“It’s the El DeBarge sound you’ve come to know,” he
says. “I’m just trying to be who I am, not anybody else. People like to
feel good. When you’re doing music, you want to stay in touch with what
makes people dance, what makes people laugh, what makes them feel
joyful, and sometimes what makes them cry.”
He teams up with rapper
“I’m a fan of Faith’s, and she’s a fan of mine,”
DeBarge says. “It’s not often you can bring celebrities together and
they set their egos to the side and just be friends and embrace each
other, and we did that very comfortably. And that shows up in the song.
You can feel it.”
Though teaming with Evans isn’t a stretch, collaborating with the likes of
“What I didn’t want to do was just say I want a rapper on my album,” he says. “It has to be, ‘Will it fit?’ With
The centerpiece of the CD is obviously the title
track, which DeBarge says is not only his story but that of many:
triumph in overcoming obstacles.
“People are looking for second chances, and
everybody deserves a second chance,” he says. “This is my second
chance, and I’m embracing it.”
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(c) 2010, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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