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Updated 1/21/02

We're Hangin' With....

SISQO

23-year old, award-winning R&B and pop recording artist Sisqo, a former frontman for the Baltimore group Dru Hill, made a big splash with his "Unleash the Dragon" CD and was previously hot for giving the world "The Thong Song". His new CD "Return of Dragon" will further cement his solo career and, after working with Will Smith on the "Wild, Wild West" video, the young artist launched an acting career playing opposite Kirsten Dunst and Colin Hanks in "Get Over It". Now Sisqo plays against type as Rupert, a good-hearted but sort of dingy dentist partner of Cuba Gooding's character in the new Disney family film Snow Dogs.

Reporter Lynn b. spoke with Sisqo recently in Los Angeles and learned a lot about his musical tastes and opinions, his acting goals and some solid advice he got from Will Smith. The young artist showed a bit of warm, child-like wonder when he saw the "gift" the studio had given journalists... a cute stuffed Husky that pops out of a can....

Sisqo: (On seeing stuffed dog still in can)... What is that hangin' out (of that can)? Is that a dog? Can I see that? Did you get this? Oh, you open up the can and the dog pops out?

(Film's publicist says she'll get him one)

Sisqo: Oh please. This is so cool.

Teenhollywood: So what attracted you to do the part of Rupert in Snow Dogs?

Sisqo: I'd been trying to pursue an acting career and take the steps to one day, hopefully, become a Hollywood icon and it's a very delicate process. You have to pick and chose carefully. I knew that Cuba (Gooding) was involved and it was a Disney production and that was one of the main reasons that I felt this would be something I'd want to do. I'd been offered roles as a drug dealer and a role in Snoop Dogg's movie Bones but I felt it would be in my best interest to take smaller roles in bigger movies following the example of Cuba and Will Smith. A lot of times when artists turn actors, they jump into that lead role and get type cast. I felt that playing Rupert would be cool considering the fact that I'm considered "The Thong Guy". Rupert was far from my normal stage persona and, hopefully, the critics would get a chance to see that I do have a little acting savvy.

Teenhollywood: The Thong Song has really stuck with you. Do you kind of wish you hadn't done it?

Sisqo: No. I'm from a group and because "Thong Song" was such a statement in my solo career, it's actually easier for me to move to a group and do something new. I guess if I did any more solo music, it would be 'Do you think you can outdo The Thong Song'? Working with a group is different. People expect Sisqo to sing up tempo music and they expect Dru Hill to sing ballads so it's kind of a cool counterbalance.

Teenhollywood: Tell us what's up with you hair. (Sisqo's dyed blonde hair was really poofy!)

Sisqo: (laughing) My hair is just out right now. Normally, I try to get it braided but I've been a little under the weather lately.

Teenhollywood: What's the most challenging aspect of acting for you?

Sisqo: One thing is the concentration that's involved. Two, it's being directed to "act". Because, a lot things that Rupert said, I wanted to say a specific way but the character had to say it another way and that's kind of hard, especially when you're a recording artist because you have the final say-so on a lot of things, more creative control. In a movie, you have to stick to the character and take orders from (the director). Normally, if someone tells you what to do pertaining to music, you'd just tell them to shut up and go on. You have to go back to the beginning of your career when you had to listen to everything anybody was saying.

Teenhollywood: Is being in a Disney film that your fan base might consider as "corny" a concern to you?

Sisqo: That was the main reason why I chose the role. Having the dynamic of this Disney character as opposed to "The Thong Guy" shows you...okay, if Sisqo, The Thong Guy is in this Disney movie, then I guess he's acting. Because in my music career I have a lot more going on, I didn't think it would be bad to see that I'm portraying a new image. Hopefully, directors who see Snow Dogs will realize, hey, Rupert is, in no way Sisqo so maybe he can act. A lot of recording artists play themselves in every movie. Rupert is not me!

Teenhollywood: How, exactly, is he different?

Sisqo: He's kinda cheesy. He's a ham. He's tap dancing, chillin', you never see him with a girl in the movie and everybody knows you are definitely gonna see a Diva next to Sisqo. His humor is a lot more PG-13 than mine. Not to say I curse but my comedic timing is a lot different than his. I can recall several instances where, in a conversation with Cuba's character, I can think of several things that I would have said totally differently. Like when he sees the hot girl on the beach I'da been gone. I'da been like, bro, you go work it out. I'm gonna go pick her up. Cuba's character might not have even gone to Alaska if Sisqo had been there (in Miami).

Teenhollywood: You've won tons of music awards and nominations and were Nickelodeon's favorite male artist. There are loads of awards shows. Do you think there are too many awards?

Sisqo: I do feel that there is a monotony going on. It's hard to chop down the awards shows but I won several Billboard awards because that goes from actual chart stats, how many records you've sold. I swept that show. But, when it came to the Grammys and American Music Awards, I won nothing. On one hand the shows are kind of pimping the artist but on the other hand it does feel good to win on one show when you lose on another.

Teenhollywood: What was the origin of the Sisqo "Dragon" persona?

Sisqo: Actually, originally the dragon thing was the logo of the Dru Hill group. I assumed the dragon persona to kind of keep the Dru Hill logo fresh in people's minds. After a while people started referring to myself as the dragon. Originally, I thought the rest of the group was going to be upset about it. When I had an opportunity to go back I saw that everyone had their own thing going. When Nokio decided to use the dragon, that was influenced by Bruce Lee. I studied Bruce Lee and realized that our plights are similar. I can't kick somebody's ass like him but when Lee stepped onto the scene everybody was like, okay, here's another Kung Fu guy and after a while, they realized that he had a certain chi that was different than the average Kung Fu guy. People are realizing I'm not the average R& B artist. Try your best to catch me when I perform (and you'll see what I mean).

Teenhollywood: Who were some of the artists that inspired you?

Sisqo: Michael Jackson. That was pretty much it. Michael Jackson, Boyz 2 Men. As I got into the business, each year it was somebody different from Stevie Wonder and now Kid Rock, P.O.D., any music that has some form of expression that is definitive to that particular artist. Michael's music cuts through everything. Mike's the Man. Honestly, I feel that my energy is closest to the artist that is Michael. I think it's the phenomenal ability he has with dancing, unlike anybody else you've ever seen. I think my voice is similar to that. As I get older I'm learning more about my voice and I try to manipulate it in different ways. With the new music we've created, I think you'll see what I'm boasting about all this time.

Teenhollywood: What is the biggest misconception that fans of Hip Hop and R&B have about you?

Sisqo: That I'm arrogant. I'm not arrogant at all. I'm just confident in my musical abilities. I feel as though, if I can't do anything else, I feel that the one thing I can do unlike any other artist in the market is sing. A lot of people in the pop market think I'm a rapper but I don't rap. I listen to Hip Hop music because a lot of the newer, up tempo R&B music lacks something..sometimes it's corny. A lot of the Hip Hop music makes you want to move. So I mimic what an artist might do when they rap but, if you listen to what I say in an up tempo song, it's always on key so it can't be interpreted as rap.

Teenhollywood: Was there an early piece of advice you got that you treasure?

Sisqo: From Will Smith. He told me when we did "The Wild Wild West". He told me to treat every dollar like it was 25 cents. Through God's grace I have some money around because I try to be sparing and think of every dollar I make like it's 25 cents. Because Uncle Sam gets on it and your Manager gets on it and you've got to split it with the group so at the end of the day you only get 25 cents so you've got to work to pile those quarters up to the ceiling.