All Audio/Video Clips require RealPlayer or Windows Media Player. Click the buttons below to obtain both free players:

On the day I was to interview Craig David, I had just gone through an unusually long day. Another artist that I was scheduled to interview had cancelled earlier in the day, which was just as well because client after client had called to demand a piece of my time. Because misery loves company, it just so happened that Craig’s interviews were running 45 minutes behind and by the time we got together I was tired, hungry and just a tad bit cranky.

Despite my crankiness, Craig’s sweet disposition won me over and our conversation flowed as if we were old friends. Even though I was his fifth (but not last) interview in a row, he was enthusiastic, friendly and seemed as if he could have gone on for as long as I had questions.

At first I wasn’t sure what I wanted to know about Craig David. I was familiar with his work, but primarily through videos, since most of the urban radio stations shy away from his blend of Pop, Hip-Hop, and R&B. But after listening to “Slicker Than Your Average,” I knew exactly where I was headed – to find out what he felt about not getting his due from black radio.

Although his debut, Born To Do It, went Gold and was embraced by MTV and Pop radio stations worldwide, Craig David has faced two barriers; one, he hasn’t really been a household name among black radio stations and two, he’s suffered criticism among his UK peers, who believe he’s sold out on the UK garage scene for U.S. R&B. So the title track of his sophomore project sets the record straight to the naysayers and critics. “I never felt it was necessary to talk about it [the criticism of his style] in interviews, “ David says matter-of-factly. “I thought I’d save time by saying it in the song, so I tried to confine it to a quick track on the album and move on.”

In moving on, David doesn’t focus on those bent on boxing his music, instead he’s hopeful that listeners will just enjoy the variety of styles that he believes represents him best. “I would love the urban market to get my music because I’ve been heavily influenced by American hip-hop and R&B, so I’ve incorporated those kind of cats into my music,” he says. “This album contains more R&B tracks, because I wanted to push the envelope and make music that represents me…but if I don’t fit in, I don’t fit in.”

David does fit in, though not in the traditional sense of R&B. Tracks like “Eenie Meenie” and “What’s Your Flava?” which has an 80’s Roger Troutman feel to it, showcases the artist’s ability to get you on the dance floor. The truth is, the tracks do tend to conjure up images of today’s boy bands, but if getting your groove on is the goal, David delivers.

While the U.K.-born musician is less known for ballads, Slicker Than Your Average contains a few noteworthy slow tracks, among them “Rise & Fall,” featuring Sting. Co-written by David and Sting, the song is a testament to the trappings of fame and fighting for redemption. It’s mournful chorus, “ Sometimes in life you feel the fight is over and it seems as though the writing’s on the wall. Superstar you’ve finally made it, but once your picture becomes tainted it’s what they call the rise and fall,” applies to more than a few of today’s musical glitterati.

David penned or co-wrote all 13 tracks, and as it vacillates between the frivolous, carefree banter of “Fast Cars,” to the seductive, “Personal,” which gave me visions of Jon B., Slicker Than Your Average helps to establish that Craig David’s musical arsenal is packed. But if his studio work doesn’t convince you, David points out, “When I perform acoustically it’s the one way I touch more people because there are so many genres that can be conjured live. Acoustically it’s [his music] a hybrid of hip-hop and R&B but it could just as easily be folk music.”

Even as he enthusiastically promotes Slicker Than Your Average, David is already thinking about his next CD. But don’t look for movie and television appearances anytime soon. Despite the onslaught of crossover entertainers in the industry, the artist says, “I’d only attempt to do that [acting] if I felt so content with my music that I’d want to do something different. But at the moment I won’t leave my day job.”