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Five-time Grammy Award-winning artist CeeLo Green continues to build on his legacy with his latest project, CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway. The album marks his first release in five years and finds the “Forget You” star teaming up with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.

The pair came together in Nashville for some songwriting sessions with no intention of creating an album. But with creative juices flowing and magic unfolding before their eyes, they decided to put together a legendary band of ’60s and ’70s musicians and in one take recorded the album you hear today.

We caught up with CeeLo Green to learn more about collaborating with Dan, how he’s grown as an artist and man, and of course, got the inside scoop on CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway.

PC: Tell us about your latest album, CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway. What inspired the collection? What do you hope to say with it?
CeeLo: My latest album, CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway, is my first official album in five years. We’re very excited about it. It was inspired by an invitation from Dan Auerbach, one half of the Black Keys. We exchanged numbers while we were promoting separate projects in London. He reached out to me about writing some songs. I went to Nashville very casually, but confidently, that we could materialize some great ideas and songs, and we did. Over roughly six months, we had about twelve to fifteen songs, and I ultimately recorded them myself. It was a wonderful, unique experience. The album is reflective toward a Southern sensibility and a simpler time in a way where it lends itself to something nostalgic yet timeless. It’s just an all-around masterpiece, I believe. But then again, I’m biased.

PC: In those five years, how have you grown as an artist and as a man?
CeeLo: I’ve grown quite a bit. As you know, you get a little older, you get a little wiser. You become more seasoned, more mature, more punctual, more selective, more inclined. To be honest, you become highly “integritible” as far as your art is concerned, as far as your individuality is concerned, as far as your expression is concerned. I chose the title of the album because I felt like at this point in my growth and development, it’s about legacy. The legacy is in the last name. Therefore, Thomas Calloway was the most fitting title for the album.

PC: It’s the first time in your career that you have recorded with a live band. How did that change the process?
CeeLo: It was very sobering in some regard but then on the other hand, very intoxicating because to just be a part of an energy and an effort—a collective effort with so many accomplished musicians—it just felt like being a part of a dream team. And of course, we’re all there playing to win, and you just want to play your position to the best of your ability, for the sake of the team, and for the sake of the game, and for the sake of the win.

PC: If you had to choose one song off CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway that best encompasses who you are as an artist, what would it be and why?
CeeLo: I would say the one song that best encompasses me as an artist is the last song on the album, “The Way,” because I do believe that life, and an artistic journey, is that progressive forward motion into the unforeseen future, and you have to be faithful, and you have to be brave and face that adversity—the adversity of unknowingness, uncertainty. But that is life now, isn’t it? And so therefore, we dare to go the distance, and even when it’s unclear, even when your path is unclear, with faith, you can find your way.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
CeeLo: The Cramps

PC: First album you bought?
CeeLo: Public Enemy

PC: First concert you attended?
CeeLo: Jackson 5 Victory tour

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
CeeLo: Again, I’d have to say Public Enemy, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. I was introduced to social politics, black culture, and icon references, i.e., Minister Louis Farrakhan—was the first time I had ever heard that name mentioned—and just all of that distortion to static, controlled chaos from production team, the Bomb Squad. It was just enamoring at the time.

To keep up with CeeLo, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify. Pick up or stream CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway today.