It's the next new dance craze...It's the Cupid Shuffle! Brought to by Cupid himself, known as the King of Down South R&B. Signed to Atlantic Records, Cupid is a 24-year-old new artist from Southwest Louisiana, specifically the city of Lafayette. Being in Louisiana, I have seen first hand how the Cupid Shuffle has spread like wildfire, hitting dance floors across the nation...From kids to grannies, from White people to Black people, everyone loves the Cupid Shuffle and all it's infectiousness!

After spending time in a group, gaining much popularity regionally, he decided to venture out on his own as a solo artist. Performing shows, he became famous for his rendition of 112's "Cupid," so much that he became known as Cupid. Sticking with the name he put out 2 self-distributed albums, including the 2005 "King of Down South R&B" which produced the hit "Swing Around the Rosey." He made his mark on Louisiana and now looks to become the next big thing in R&B!



Melody: Tell everybody about who Cupid is!

Cupid: Well, basically born in Lafayette, Louisiana, I am definitely the new sound in R&B as far as R&B is concerned. I’m 24 years old, I’ve been singing for quite a while, I have a brand new single called “The Cupid Shuffle” which is taking over the clubs real organically. I am just glad to be in the situation that I’m in to kind of change the game up.

M: Definitely, so being from Southwest Louisiana, do you think the nation is ready for a little swing out?

C: I think so, I think the nation needs something. Everything is just so the same. You got Chris Brown and then you got 50 other dudes trying to be Chris Brown. Then there’s Omarion and then you got 20 other guys trying to be him. Where as for myself, I don’t imitate anybody style or anything. Also I think the world is going to be ready because of the fact that I actually sing and a lot of the guys in the R&B game they really don’t sing, like they should, they don’t respect the old singers from the past, the Sam Cookes and the Marvin Gayes. So I think that my soulful roots along with my creativity is going to be a good blend for the country.

M: So how long have you been pursuing music professionally?

C: I have been doing it for about 8 years now.

M: So when you were making “The Cupid Shuffle” did you think that it would become such a hit? It’s crossing all segments, from kids to grannies, from White to Black people, everybody’s doing the Cupid Shuffle!

C: I didn’t know it was going to be that big, but making music until…it’s like opening a door and you have a hand full of keys and you are just trying each key until it opens. I just kept putting songs out, until the Cupid Shuffle opened the door, you know what I mean.

M: Well, it’s definitely taken off, and I know you shot the video for it, so when can we expect the video to be out?

C: The video should be out in a couple of weeks, like two weeks. I just confirmed the final video edit today and the album should be released mid-July. Looking at 17th!

Check out some stills from the video:

M: Okay…Speaking of your album, describe your sound and how it’s different from anything that’s out today.

C: Well basically it’s more than music. A lot of times, people talks about the same thing but for me I have a real fun, fun CD. I pride myself on not using vulgar language which is a real issue right now with the Imus case. I’ve always done that because I been doing this for 10 years or so and when I was younger my mom wouldn’t let me do it. Parents can go into the store and buy the CD for their kids not worry about it. But at the same time it’s still street enough and still fun enough that you can do it in the hood, do it at wedding receptions, parks, bar-b-ques, whatever! It’s real diverse and again it’s not like the [the record label] said I had to sound like this little pop guy, they let me just be me. So that’s what I been doing for 10 years and I been eating for all these years off of music. So it’s gonna be a breath of fresh air, of fun air into the game.

M: Wonderful, well I am really excited, to see how far you’ve come. I remember meeting you the day you sign with Atlantic and it’s been going lightening fast, you been so busy and working so hard, so it’s really good to see this coming into fruition! So where can people find out more about you?

C: I have a super MySpace page, it’s http://www.myspace.com/theonlycupid and anything you need to know you can look there or you can go to Atlantic Records website.

M: I know there is plenty of Cupid Shuffling going on, so what’s the funniest video you’ve seen so far?

C: The funniest is the one-eyed granny!

M: Yeah! I’ve seen that one, it’s hilarious!

C: The cutest is the one with the little girl in the pink shirt that sings the song from beginning to the end, she’s actually in the video!

M: She is? How cute is that! Well I am glad we finally the time talk and I am sure I’ll catch around somewhere! We’ll be following as you get ready for the release of your album…

C: Man, well I appreciate that a hundred, billion percent!

M: No problem, I told I got you! We’ll have everyone doing the Cupid Shuffle, working it out because you know it’s an aerobic workout!

C: [laughs]

M: Alright, I’ll holla atcha later!

CHECK OUT CUPID'S MYSPACE

OFFICIAL ATLANTIC WEBSITE

Labels: Cupid