“Motown Records tried to sign me for about a year but the A&R wouldn’t let me sign unless I spoke to the president of the company, that was Kedar. Finally I signed to Motown, then I left Motown, but me and Kedar have been working together ever since,” admits Algebra.

Algebra (full name, Algebra Felicia Blessett) born in US soul town, Atlanta, Georgia, is getting us ready for her first recording Purpose. She says, “Anthony Hamilton is great, he’s a fun, and happy person. An agency in America hooked it up and I did a couple of shows with him. I was on Motown then, so they thought it would be a good thing,” about her experience touring with major soul artist Anthony Hamilton.

“I should have brought it!” Regarding her iPod. “I have a lot of soul, rock, blues, and gospel. I have classical. The only classical music I have is Bach. I’m a big fan of Bach and I have country. I have no Mexican music, I should get that. I don’t have any Indian music. I don’t have a lot of world music, and I should! I have no world music!”

Algebra speaks about her unique name (and high school name calling): “Well with my name I got picked on all the time, like I got picked on so bad! So bad! It’s my real name; I was named after my aunt, both of my aunts, my mother’s sister, and my father’s sister. Only here in the UK, I found two people with the last name Blessett,” As mentioned previously, Purpose is Algebra’s first recording, she admits, “I want to put this record out. Tour, promote it, and get more established. Not for fame, I want fame don’t get me wrong, but I want to be a vessel in someone’s life. I want to help people so bad because I have so many people around me that suffer from so many different things. It could be death in the family or if it’s not feeling happy.” Algebra continues “That kills people slowly and I want to help people. I think love and music really does that and I want to be apart of that. There are a lot of underground artists that are singing honest music and I want to be a part of that movement — to help people. In a few years from now, I want to have an album that people go. Do you remember this song? I want to put out a classic; I want to be remembered as somebody that was needed, and that makes people smile. That’s my biggest thing. You know? I want to do moves, and buy big houses that are comfortable for my family, and start a school, definitely. I would love to have my own art school.”

Her home town Atlanta, Georgia has given us some of the world’s best soul legends such as Otis Redding to many independent artists “Yeah, Atlanta has a big soul scene” agrees Algebra. “I grew up there, my mother sings gospel, my great grandparents; they did albums as well. So, soul music, gospel music and r&#38b music, was listened to a lot in my mom’s basement, because she’s heavily into music. She plays bass, she’s funky!”

During the interview, I was at the Opium Bar, a small oriental venue in Soho and outside in the London streets, the weather was typically heavy rain, wind and cloud. “It’s funny but I like the rain. It reminds me of Philadelphia. Philadelphia’s very rainy and dreary but when I flew in to London a couple of days ago the sun was out. I like London, I haven’t had the chance to take it all in but I listened to this radio station and I’m like, what is this? It will go from a very r&b song, to a very eclectic dub song, to alternative, or a pop song. We don’t get that in Atlanta, there are specific stations, for rap music, or r&b music.”

Algebra describes the sound of her own music, “There’s a passion behind it onto my situation and it allows me to get to know myself throughout this entire album. “I want to help people, heal people; I don’t know if you’ve listened to the album? But there’s a track on it called ‘U Do It For Me’. That was co-written by a friend of mine, she’s married and we were talking one day. We decided to write about repricosity people. It’s about doing onto others as they do onto you, basically. I want to make you happy because it makes me happy. It’s about having somebody in your life and being able to be happy for them as well as being happy for you and I think it helped a lot of people. I had a message on MySpace and it said, ‘I finally found someone that does it for me’. I was like, ‘oh that’s so good!’” On a lighter note, I get Algebra to talk about what is in her iPod “I should have brought it!” Regarding her iPod. “I have a lot of soul, rock, blues, and gospel. I have classical. The only classical music I have is Bach. I’m a big fan of Bach and I have country. I have no Mexican music, I should get that. I don’t have any Indian music. I don’t have a lot of world music, and I should! I have no world music!”

“It’s funny but I like the rain. It reminds me of Philadelphia. Philadelphia’s very rainy and dreary but when I flew in to London a couple of days ago the sun was out. I like London, I haven’t had the chance to take it all in but I listened to this radio station and I’m like, what is this? It will go from a very r&b song, to a very eclectic dub song, to alternative, or a pop song. We don’t get that in Atlanta, there are specific stations, for rap music, or r&b music.”

Algebra Blessett became a singer by an unexpected route, “I started singing in sixth grade, and was actually getting paid for it. That is maybe eight or nine years old, and the only reason I did that was to stay after school with my friends. I joined a gospel choir, I couldn’t play any sports, and I wasn’t a basketball player. When I was younger I wasn’t allowed to wear jeans, only skirts and dresses. It was strict because of the religion that we were in. I did that to stay after school with my friends. I’m glad I did it; I started playing guitar after my first record deal and I was feeling bad, I was just bored with music. I was bored with a lot of things musically and I had a guitar that my mother used, so I picked it up one day, it sounded horrible! Real bad! So, what I did was I decorated it, but I was horrible at playing it, but it soon started coming to me.

“No I didn’t have music lessons, but I want to take lessons and I will because I write songs on these things!” expresses Algebra Blessett. “Do I care? Good question”, reflects Algebra regarding music industry opinions of her. “Yes and no. I know as a human being I can’t please everybody. I do what makes me happy first and if they don’t like it, it’s like I don’t want to be miserable trying to please everybody. I kind of care because I don’t want to offend anyone, but I do what makes me happy first, it’s extra humbling for them to enjoy it, and it’s what I’m here for, to give you ‘me’. The critics? I care, but some are just out to get you. They just start talking junk, no research or nothing.”

Lastly, Algebra Blessett chooses a word that describes her personality best “I’m going to tell you this word but your going to have to go look it up, I’m not going to tell you the meaning, my word is Blithe. That’s probably what I’d say, yeah.”