With the season of merriment upon us and Mariah Carey regrettably taking permanent residence , having some fresh sounds is more than welcome. R&B riser The Real J Israel delivers in reams with ‘Give Thanks (Be Grateful)’ – a gospel and R&B fused classic that brings some much needed variety this holiday. We had the pleasure of chatting to the man himself about how it all came about…
GL: Do you have any controversial music opinions?
None that come to mind.
GL: What is your current album/song of the year?
If you’re referring to my favorite song of the year other than my own, it will have to be “Higher Power” by Coldplay. However, my favorite current song that I have released is entitled “When You Need Love”.
GL: What’s the most irritating song you’ve heard released this year?
Of course I have heard some songs and wondered how in the hell is that being played but being an artist I would rather not say which song.
GL: Do you have any music-based guilty pleasures?
None that I can think of because I have no guilt in the pleasures that I find in music.
GL: If you could feature any artist on your next single who would it be and why?
Babyface is my all time favorite artist, he’s the G.O.A.T. Singing with him is definitely on my bucket list.
GL: You’ve said that this song is really close to you, would you be able to explain why to our readers?
Of course. This song is close to me because I am a big advocate of maintaining an attitude of gratitude. I’m a family so I understand the importance of sustaining the balance between family and career.
GL: How have people reacted to the single so far?
So far I have received only positive feedback. People have expressed gratitude for the reminder to “Be Grateful”.
GL: Can you talk us through the songwriting process for the track?
I was actually having a conversation about holiday songs around the end of October 2021. I knew it was kind of late to try and write a holiday song so I knew I needed to move quickly. I knew that I wanted to write a general holiday song that covered all the end of the year holidays. And the first thing that came to mind was “Be Grateful You’re still here. The main focus of this song was to be relatable and invoke emotions. The song pretty much wrote itself from there.
Give Thanks (Be Grateful) is out now and available everywhere!
Check out J Israel down below!