‘Housewives' star Burruss returns to musical roots

It might not seem like it now, but Kandi Burruss had a life before “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

And she’s now come full circle.

As a member of Xscape, the powerhouse Atlanta girl group, Burruss participated in a string of hits in the '90s.

But it was in 1999 that she quietly became a superstar. Burruss and Xscape bandmate Tameka “Tiny” Cottle penned the Grammy-winning TLC smash “No Scrubs,” which instigated Burruss’ new career as a songwriter.

She wrote plenty of hits for acts such as Destiny’s Child, Pink, Mariah Carey, ‘N Sync and Usher, but Burruss struggled to achieve her own success as an artist.

Her 2000 release, “Hey Kandi,” could be considered a moderate success for its time, reaching No. 72 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

But its lack of chart sizzle temporarily discouraged Burruss’ ambitions.

Throughout the decade, Burruss, a 15-year resident of Fayetteville, nipped around a second solo release that never gained traction until she joined the insanely popular Bravo TV series in 2009.

It seemed the perfect timing to revisit another solo album, which finally arrived this week.

On “Kandi Koated,” Burruss digs into her armory of emotional experiences, particularly her intense relationship with Ashley "A.J." Jewell, her former fiancé who was killed outside an Atlanta strip club last year, a few months after the couple ended their engagement.

Recently, Burruss, a youthful 34, talked to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at an area public relations office, discussing, between bites of her Waffle House breakfast, her anxiety over the album’s release and the pros and cons of being a very public housewife.

Q: It’s been a decade since your last solo album [“Hey Kandi"]. Why so long between releases and why now for this one?

A: It was not intentional for it to take this long. My first solo album didn’t do what I would have wanted it to, so it was a disappointment to me. So at that point, I was like, forget it, I’ll stay behind the scenes and write for other people. That thought lasted all of a year [laughs]. But then I got pregnant with my daughter [Riley, born in August 2002] and I got custody of my little cousin, so I went from having no kids to having a baby and a pre-teen and I had to adjust to that. About four years ago, I got a deal with Divine Stevens’ label, and I don’t know what went on with that, but it didn’t come out. After I got with the "Housewives," [releasing an album] started becoming a public conversation.

Q: Have the songs on this record been around all of these years?

A: "[How Could You ...] Feel My Pain," I had that song for a while. I always loved it, so I just kept it. Some of the songs have been done in the past few months, and some were done when A.J. and I were together. "I Just Know" was inspired by our relationship in good times. "Haven’t Loved Right," it was written while we were together, but I decided to use it after his passing because that’s how I felt.

Q: What type of album did you set out to make?

A: I wanted a real strong R&B album that reminded me of when I was in Xscape, but up-to-date. It has a lot of strong ballads and midtempo songs. There aren’t many fast songs, but a lot of relationship records, some feel-good songs and some that are not so happy -- which is life. The majority of the album is inspired by a relationship.

Q: You worked with Ne-Yo on the song “Me and U” and work some of OutKast’s “Elevators" into the song. Did you go out of your way to include Atlanta artists and music?

A: It just worked. When I went to Ne-Yo’s studio and he brought me the track, I was like, "Oooh, I love this." I went to high school with OutKast. We went to Tri-Cities. A lot of people came from that school, from Jagged Edge, Danity Kane, Kenan Thompson [from "Saturday Night Live"].

Q: You’ve worked with so many people in your career, but with whom are you dying to do something?

A: I think I would like to work with Kanye [West], just to get an idea of what he’s like in the studio. He seems like he’s got a lot going on in his mind, and I’d just like to pick his brain one day.

Q: Now that the album is finished, how are you feeling about it?

A: I’m nervous. I haven’t had an album in a long time. It’s that whole thing of acceptance. I like to say I don’t care what people think, but deep down inside, we want people to like us and what we do creatively, so that’s what I’m nervous about. I want people to like the album. Even if you don’t like me, personally, I hope you can at least appreciate the music.

I feel like a new artist again. It’s been a long time, and I feel the pressure with that. It’s definitely a love project for me.

Q: If you go back on tour next year, will the “Housewives” cameras be there to follow you around?

A: It depends on their taping schedule. If we start [taping] in March, they’re not going to come to a show in January to tape it. This contract, I want to make sure when it says I’m done for the season, I’m done.

Q: So does that mean you’re definitely coming back?