Don't Look Back
PHOTOS courtesy of Sony Music

Frankie J, R&B’s smooth operator, continues along his unconventional road to success.

Mexican-born artist Frankie J has never been one to look back. At the age of two his uncle took him and his siblings trick-or-treating across the border into San Diego. Except they never went back.

Frankie J didn’t waste time taking advantage of this country’s opportunities. In no time at all, he went from undocumented trick-or-treater to promising young star, as a member of Kumbia Kings. From there he continued his road to success by parting ways with Kumbia Kings and launching his thus-far illustrious solo career. His debut effort, the CD What’s a Man to Do?, has enjoyed considerable success, as evidenced by the heavy rotation of the single “Don’t Wanna Try.” One of Frankie J’s biggest strengths is his versatility. His musical style shifts effortlessly from hip-hop, soul, funk, and R&B. On What’s a Man To Do? Frankie J has also stayed true to his Latin roots by simultaneously recording the album in Spanish.

Frankie J may have come to the U.S. for a few treats, but he’s since given America—and the world—a much bigger treat in return: his music.

How drastic was the change from being in Kumbia Kings to becoming a solo artist?
It was a big change. To me, it was a relief though. I felt like I came out of a box, and I was free again. But being on stage is not exactly the same, although it’s…perhaps even better. I don’t have the same people there that I used to. I have my own people now. I have my own band. It was also a big change in the music because we used to do cumbia, we used to do reggae with a hip-hop twist to it. Now it’s R&B, hip-hop, ballads, and stuff like that. It was a big change, but again I feel a lot more comfortable where I’m at right now.

Why did you decide to leave the group?
I felt like I was being a shadow of the person that was the main guy in the group. A lot of people would mention the Kumbia Kings, but it was not like we were known individually. We were just known as the Kumbia Kings. What I wanted to do was be free of that and let the world know that I could do the same thing, perhaps even better. So I wanted to expose myself to my people and expose my music and talent—express myself in a free manner. So that’s why I decided to leave and build my own career, and thank God that it’s been a very successful one. It’s been working so far so I appreciate the love that the fans have given me…everybody in radio and everybody in the media. It’s been a blessing.

Has there been a time that you wished you were still a member of the group?
No, never. Right when I made that decision I was pretty much convinced of what I wanted to do. There’s never been any thought of remorse or regret, of me thinking, “Wow. I need to go back to the group.”

Are you in good standing with the members of Kumbia Kings?
I talk to a few of the guys and we are still cool people. The only one that I do not talk to is A.B. Unfortunately he wasn’t very happy when I left the group, and my decision wasn’t the greatest thing for him. But I really needed to move on and be my own person. I guess to him it just wasn’t acceptable, so we haven’t really communicated with each other. We have never picked up the phone and called one another or anything like that. After all that’s happened I’ve really separated 100% from him and just launched my career.

What has been the hardest decision you have had to make as a solo artist?
I have never liked to perform with a [recorded] track. I have always loved the live essence of performing on stage. So I think the hardest decision that I’ve had to make is perform with a track. I am an artist and I am a vocalist; my view of being an artist is to be able to play live and perform live. My performing with a track is just the most uncomfortable thing.

When you write your songs, where do you get your inspiration?
A lot of my songs come from the heart, they come from experience. They come from things that have happened to me. That’s mainly where my songs come from. You know this album here that I have, the English one and the Spanish one, it’s like a little book about my life story, what I have gone through. If you listen to each and every one of the songs, you’ll get to know me more and more as a person, not just as an artist.

On a lighter note, how much easier is it to pick up on women since your career has taken off?
[laughs] Why would you have to ask me that question? Nobody has asked me a question that was so unique.
There’s times when it’s a lot easier. And there’s times when it’s just a lot harder, because a lot of women nowadays, you know, they hear you on the radio and they expect for you to be cocky with them. So they become cocky with you and they become hard…I’m not here to pick up chicks because of what I do or who I am. It’s more of the person that I am inside, not who I am on the outside. There’s times of course that it’s a lot easier and there’s times that it’s difficult because, like I said, they become hard because they think you are going to act a certain way with them.

So do musicians ever get to take home the hot women in their videos?
[laughs] It depends on the person and if you are the kind of person that likes to go all out with a woman that’s beautiful and just because she’s in your video you think she is going to sleep with you…But no, not everybody is like that. I mean I know that I’m not like that. I am very professional. I don’t like to go up to the girl that is in my video and go, “Hey, can I get your number?” Now if I ever confront her out on the street besides the fact that she is not there in the environment where we are working…um…well hey, that’s a whole different story. When we are on a set and we are working, it’s all professional.

What’s the craziest thing that one of your female admirers has done?
Well I know that this might not sound unusual but I’ve had panties thrown at me when I’m on stage. I mean I’m pretty sure you hear this from a lot of people. Maybe it’s not the most unusual, but to me it’s just, wow, it’s just a weird thing. For a woman to be able to take off her panties and say, “Here you go!”

You are thinking of going into acting, is that your ultimate goal?
My ultimate goal is basically to do as much as possible, as much as I can. And a lot of people have come to me and said, “You should get into acting.” The more people come to me and ask me or tell me, “You should get into acting,” the more and more I believe it. And hey, to me it’s not a bad idea. I love being in front of the cameras. I love being myself in front of cameras, and I don’t mind acting like a fool in front of the cameras. So of course I do have some plans to, later on in the future, do some acting here and there. But right now, I am really concentrating on my music. I want to establish myself here first, before I establish a name in acting.

Were you to start acting would you dedicate most of your time to acting or give up singing altogether?
I know that it requires a lot when you start acting, so I think you would have to stop one thing. But hey, if you could do both at the same time, why not? I don’t feel that I might have to stop making music to go into acting. Nowadays there are just a lot of people out there doing the same exact thing. Like J. Lo, she did it. She started acting and singing. I could do the same thing. Hey, if there’s a way that I can make it easy for me to be able to work both careers, then I would love to do both.

So which actor would you want to work with if you could become a Hollywood superstar?
There’s a lot of actors that are just great. There’s Al Pacino. There’s Cuba Gooding, Jr. There’s Denzel Washington. Wow, I mean all kinds of actors I wouldn’t mind working with, any of these people, because they are just great people, great actors. Once I get to their level, then maybe I would like to work with them. Because I would not like to make a fool out of myself.

So whose level do you think you could get to?
As long as I could get to some type of level. [laughs] Even if there are ten levels, as long as I get to the first level, I am okay.

Is it more important to you to get acceptance in the English or Spanish speaking audience?
I think both. I don’t think I would choose one more than the other. I think I would do both, because the fact is I can speak Spanish and I can speak English. By being accepted by both markets it would be something very, very, very great for me. Right now I am trying to get accepted in the English market, in the urban department. And it’s difficult, it’s hard being Latin and singing R&B music.

Which audience do you think you identify most with?
Both. I think I can identify with both because, like I said, I am from a Mexican family—Spanish has been my first language—and I can identify with the American market, because I was raised in the U.S.

What advice do you have for Latino men?
To believe in yourself, keep striving for your dreams. There are no barriers on your dreams. You can’t put any barriers in front of yourself, or else you’re going to stop yourself. The only person that can stop you is yourself. I think that you just need to have faith in yourself, have faith in God. Keep going forward, and don’t listen to all the negativity that’s out there.