Soulful? Smooth? How would you describe Lalah's sound? There are so many elements to her sound that one may simply think making a reference to her legendary father would be easiest. However, Lalah is one of those artists that is just real and true. MiddleChild spoke with the soul spokeswoman about her new album in stores now.

MiddleChild: Well let's jump right into this. Now I just really got into your music and learning about you and I see this is your fifth album. Tell me how you came up with the title "Self Portrait".

Lalah Hathaway: I really wanted to make something memorable. I thought it would be cool to have a title of a record with a song that doesn't exist. I thought it really..it really is what the record is. It's really a portrait of me as an artist. So I thought it was a really cool title.

MiddleChild: And how exactly do you picture yourself?

Lalah Hathaway: In words? Just like that record. It's hard to say which is why I became a musician because I express myself well musically. So the record is a absolutely a self portrait of me in a way that I wouldn't be able to say "well...me as a person..." That would be harder for me to do.

MiddleChild: Okay. So what's going to make this album better than the previous four?

Lalah Hathaway: What's going to make it better? Well I don't know that I would say it's better, but I would say that I think it's my best piece of work personally because of the way I feel about it. But I think that it's just a different expression. I think that it's more of the same. I think over the course of my life I have been making music and it's just another step. It's a part of the process of the evolution of me as an artist, but what makes it my favorite record of all my records...not better than the rest, but just right now my favorite...is really just time and the fact that as a musician, as a human, as a person I'm just maturing and I can feel that and hear it on my record.

MiddleChild: Now you said that music is the way that you express yourself best musically, so when you set down to lay out the blue print for your album how do you decide which part of yourself you plan to share with your fans this time around?

Lalah Hathaway: I don't. I just start writing and try not to censor too much and try to allow myself to be vulnerable and be real and truthful and honest and allow that stream of consciousness part to take over because I think that's where you find the art.

MiddleChild: So tell me a little bit about the album. I know you hooked up with Rex Rideout who did some awesome work with my girl Ledisi.

Lalah Hathaway: Right. Kenneth Crouch I did a record with. I worked with his brother many years ago on my second record. Terrace Martin. I've known a long time. He's done a lot of work with Snoop. One of my girlfriends named Paula Gallitano who is a great musician, who I went to college with that I've known a long time. It's not a lot of producers. Just a very tight family of people. I just wanted to keep it small so that it was really about the music.

MiddleChild: Speaking of which. How do you manage to stay in your own lane? I know you said that you didn't want to be like everyone else mainstream. You want to simply be you. How do you stay true to yourself?

Lalah Hathaway: How do I stay in my own lane? I just stay in my own lane. I don't really have to stay there. I'm just there. (laughs) It's not really an effort not to be anybody else because I'm not anybody else. You know what I mean? I'm very clear on who I am and where I'm going. There's nothing I would rather be then myself.

MiddleChild: Is there anything other than music that you could see yourself doing?

Lalah Hathaway: You know If I could be anything...if I could be a really great comedian I would be. But I would have to be extra extra great.

MiddleChild: (laughs) I hear you. If you could put together your own soul tour who would you put on the ticket? Name about three other artists.

Lalah Hathaway: Funny you should mention that because it's kind of hard right now to kind of find someone. Somebody just said to me in another interview that I don't have a male counterpart which is odd....who would you choose?

MiddleChild: Who would I put on the road with you? I would definitely have to put Ledisi on the road with you...

Lalah Hathaway: Right. Maybe Rahsaan.

MiddleChild: Yea. Another good choice.

Lalah Hathaway: And who else?

MiddleChild: Maybe..Raheem DeVaughn. He's doing his thing right now. So maybe he can go too.

Lalah Hathaway: You don't think he's too sexy for my audience?

MiddleChild: Naw. Are you too sexy for the audience? (both laugh) Naw. I don't think he's too sexy for your audience. I think you all bring that whole grown vibe to the table. I think it could work.

Lalah Hathaway: Interesting. I don't know much about him, but I definitely see him as more of...I can see him on the road with say Erykah Badu.

MiddleChild: Okay.

Lalah Hathaway: I don't know. Maybe Eric Roberson...maybe Brian McKnight fifteen years ago... I don't know.

MiddleChild: (laughs) She said Brian McKnight fifteen years ago.

Lalah Hathaway: (laughs) I mean just cause he's so busy now. You know.

MiddleChild: Okay. We'll throw that out there. He's busy yall. (both laugh) Alright. So the album is in stores as of June 3rd, which falls during Black music Month, so tell me what Black Music Month means to you.

Lalah Hathaway: Well Black Music Month doesn't mean anything to me, but Soul Music is very important to me clearly because it's my base and it's a lot of the music to my childhood and it's the soundtrack to my life. It's really important, or used to be a really important teaching tool. Music is unfortunately one of the first things that gets thrown away, but it's like one of the most important things ever and particularly soul music because it really does tell the story of people in this country. And I think that about soul music because that's what I do. If your average person had to live without music I think it would be a very bad thing because you wouldn't know when to cry at the movies. You wouldn't know when the ice cream truck is coming. There is a lot of things that music cues you on that you don't realize it cues you on because it's a part of your everyday life that you take for granted so I think music is very important to me in that way. Every month.

MiddleChild: Right. So now tell me a title of one of your songs from your album that describes how you are feeling at this very moment right now.

Lalah Hathaway: A song from my album that describes how I'm feeling right now? In this moment?

MiddleChild: At this very point in your life.

Lalah Hathaway: Right now I'm very jetlagged and can't think of any of the titles. Okay..How about "Breathe".

MiddleChild: Okay. Now tell me about that song.

Lalah Hathaway: That song is literally about breathing and letting go. That's not what I'm trying to do at this moment, but since you asked me and I had to pick one and I was breathing...(both laugh)..so I figured...

MiddleChild: Inhale! Exhale!

Lalah Hathaway: It was very relative to my day. Breathing....uhm yea. Just about letting go. Breathing and letting go. It's a good song.

MiddleChild: Cool. Well like I said I'm excited to hear it because I just recently got into you. Sorry it took so long, but I am getting back into all of the rich soul sound.

Lalah Hathaway: Where are you?

MiddleChild: I'm in Alabama.

Lalah Hathaway: Oh okay.

MiddleChild: Yea. I'm an R&B head so I'm definitely all into it.

Lalah Hathaway: Right on. Well you should definitely go to my website because it is a well spring of knowledge for people who love music like you do. LalahHathaway.com

MiddleChild: Cool. I shall do that and also link it to your interview.

Lalah Hathaway: Please do. Please please do.

MiddleChild: I will. Good luck with Self Portrait.

Lalah Hathaway: Thank you. I know it's hot down there, huh?

MiddleChild: Oh yea. (laughs) It actually feels good today though. It's mid-70's right now. Got a little breeze going, but it's been crazy. Like cold one day, rainy the next, hot and humid the next so it's crazy.

Lalah Hathaway: Yea.

MiddleChild: So we back into good weather right now. The 70's.

Lalah Hathaway: That's not bad. That's not bad.

MiddleChild: Naw. Not at all. Well you have a good day and we'll be in touch.

Lalah Hathaway: Thanks. You too. Bye Bye.