Lalah Hathaway may be a five-time Grammy Award winner, but the singer-songwriter tells Billboard that becoming a nominee again never loses its luster.
“I never take it for granted,” says Hathaway. She received two nominations in the R&B category: best R&B album (Vantablack) and best traditional R&B performance (“No Lie,” featuring Michael McDonald).
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“But it’s always my intent to do the best job I can and speak to the legacy that I’m working for,” continues Hathaway, who says she woke up five minutes before the awards reveal began. “I couldn’t find my glasses,” she adds with a laugh. “It’s such a beautiful thing to be recognized by my peers and by music professionals. And it’s always like Christmas —and not just for myself. It’s also exciting to see how many of the musicians that I work are hopefully being recognized for their work.”
Case in point: Mad Skillz’s The Seven Number Ones, nominated in the best spoken word poetry album category. Hathaway, incidentally, is featured on the album track “Music.”
Hathaway, the daughter of soul legend Donny Hathaway, is carving out her own noteworthy legacy. The nominated Vantablack marks her eighth studio album and first new project since 2017’s Honestly. In addition to the aforementioned McDonald, guests on the 16-track set include Common, Rapsody, MC Lyte and Willow. Vantablack was released this summer through Hathaway Entertainment in association with SRG-ILS Group (Virgin Music Group). Hathaway’s most recent Grammy win was for her interpretation of the Anita Baker hit “Angel” for best traditional R&B performance in 2016.
“Partnering with SRG-ILS has been crucial in terms of being able to present the visuals that I was thinking of for the album and to really hone in on the music,” says Hathaway. “I’m just so proud of the whole effort that we all made across the whole project: the art, merch and tour, which we finished just a couple of weeks ago. It’s been tremendous; I feel like I’m just starting to hit my stride.”
