"AUDIOBIOGRAPHY"

The concept of the "Audiobiography" CD came about in 2000 when I was on the "TP2000 Tour" which featured RKelly, Sunshine Anderson, and Selena Johnson. This tour was such a blessing for me because it came at a time when I needed to release some deep emotional road-blocks. In December 1997, my mother lost her battle with Colon Cancer and it forever changed the lives of my entire family. Caring for my mother was a true blessing for me, yet in the end, I found myself emotionally drained and in need of a release. On top of my mother's illness and her passing, I was involved in an on again off again relationship. So, at the time, I just felt like I was a bomb, literally ready to blow. I needed to run away, so I did. In January 2001, I moved from Flint back to California, with a heavy heart and lots of emotional baggage. Six months later God blessed me with the "TP2000 Tour". Not only was I able to make a little money doing what I loved to do, but traveling to all those different cities and being able to spend time to myself in the different hotels allowed me to grieve my losses. My producer, ("Co-P") and I spoke and decided that it was time to do an album, so he began coming up with tailor made tracks, sending them to me trying to spark any kind of expression, and in the beginning the things I was coming up with were so typical and had no reflection of who I was at the time. So he suggested that I write about some of the things that I'd been through, and the rest is history. It's been said that true art has no time line, and perhaps this is correct because this album has taken us 3 years to complete. While writing each of these songs, I felt as if I were lying on the couch of the most sought after therapist in town. I'd finally found a container to dump my emotions into and it came in the form of a studio booth.

The first song written was "Surrendered", this is a story about the closeness between two friends and the ability to cross the line when the relationship you're in is on shaky grounds. But keep in mind, some of these stories may or may not be fictional, so don't take the words to heart too quick.

The second song written was "Even Though", this song expresses the disappointment of her relationship because of the way things were being handled. Apparently, the boyfriend was insecure and jealous, and it appears as if instead of bringing her closer to him, the outcome was just the opposite. But if you listen to the words closely, she's expressing her love for him and sharing her disappointments and she gives him a warning. This out of all of the songs on the album seems to always get misunderstood. Some people hear"money in my pocket", and assume that she's complaining about the lack of money and that's it. But, if you listen to all of the words in this song, you'll find that the true complaint here is the insecurities, lack of moral support in pursuing her dreams, etc. So perhaps, this is the most controversial song on the album, and one of my favorite, because I like to hear the opinions of people and hear them debate on the subject. What it does is strike communication, which is usually why relationships go wrong. If we could only communicate with one another and get a clear understanding of one another's needs we would all be much happier.

I think the third song written was "He Loves Me", which is so beautiful to me because it shows the outcome of a situation or a misunderstanding between two and how it can turn into something so positive through communication. This song to me has a mending/reconciliation aura It makes up for the negative and puts love and heartfelt expression in its' place.

After the third song, I honestly cannot remember the order in which the rest of the songs were written. But what I did notice in the midst of my writing was that all of the songs had a similar vibe to them, almost as if it were a book or a movie. So, after releasing my souls memoirs, I was able to step back and put things in an order of events format. Tying each song to the next and that's when the albums title came about. "Audiobiography" This album tells stories of my life at that time and others lives that have been very influential to me. It has been my voice when I felt expressionless. It gave me an arena to confront and confess some of my dissapointments and shortcomings. This album has been my therapy.

When asked what I'd like to get across to people through this album, the answer is the need for communication, understanding, and patience. Because I feel that we have to learn each others style of communication. Yeah, we all talk all the time, but how many of us truly hear and understand one another. If we don't really hear what the other has to say, we can never fully understand the other, and therefore, we can never please nor be pleased by anyone, and so the cycle of disappointing relationships will continue over and over. I don't wanna live my life in constant disappointment, so I'm willing to change. Are You?

"Audiobiography" was produced by Cory ("Co-P!") Peterson, which in my opinion is one of or perhaps the most gifted and versatile songwriter, producers of our time. He is also a Flint, Michigan native who now resides in California. He's worked with many artist from Kelly Price, MC Breed, Davante',ORyan, Busy Bone, Will Smith, Chauncey from BlackStreet, and Javier, to name a few. "Co-P" produced every track on the album and wrote on several of the songs along with Andre Merit, which wrote the hook on "Maybe One Day".

The album was produced in Woodland Hills, California and written in many different states, but the world will be blessed by the life and experiences that I and others have gone through and from this album.

Sophia Janell'
"Audiobiography"
Blessed to be able to express myself