Looking for Love

North Philly MC taps the tender side of hip-hop.

by A.D. Amorosi

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No matter how rough you like your hip-hop, there's always room for a smoothie. Someone who avoids panicky beats and manic samples and heads straight for the cushy heart of a song. A lone maverick who won't touch the Auto-Tune. A cat with a sensuous curve in his voice, one who jumps on a caramel melody and clings to its subtle hip-hop groove.

Like Sterling Simms.

Why radio hasn't picked on the silken soul-hop of Simms' Yours Mine and the Truth (One Recording/Def Jam) is beyond me. Though the North Philly native won't say so explicitly, I bet he's thinking the same thing.

"I'm happy with my home," says Simms when asked if maybe his famed label isn't working hard enough to break cool, heartbreaking tracks like "Jump Off."

"In every home at times there's a mess in the kitchen, but you don't move out because of it," he says. His label should clean up that mess pronto. Like Ne-Yo and Chris Brown (before he turned into Ike Turner), Simms swings the sweet stuff — hip-hop, just humbler and more tender.

And Simms, who's written tunes for lover-men Mario and Tyrese, is as hit-making as any of the above. He just needs Def Jam to get on the ball.

Think Kenny Gamble would've given him free studio access when he was a kid, or that Jay-Z would've let him sing on Kingdom Come if Simms didn't have the goods?

"My upbringing kept me humble," says Simms. He lived throughout North Philly and Germantown before splitting for Atlanta in his teens. "I have cousins who live off 25th and Cumberland, others near 45th and Market. I'm around there a lot when I'm not on the road." And he's been on the road since he was 14 — the start of his music writing career. "I think my writing style's matured since because of those life experiences," he laughs. "That's how I kept it real."

Inspirations? He's got a few.

"I like Ne-Yo and Brian McKnight because you can read their songs on paper and they read like poetry. I like both R. Kelly and The-Dream because each of them can write from a man's perspective."

Being a man's man is what seasons meaty cuts such as "Playa" and "She Should Be Thanking You," with a macho swagger. But it's being a road dog that gives his songs a lonely passion. It's as if he never really got a chance to form solid relationships. There's nervousness to baleful ballads like "I Know."

"Every time my phone rings I'm scared/ 'Cause I think shortie's gonna put me out there," Sterling sings.

I think he's got road-romance jitters.

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"I've had ups and downs in adult relationships while traveling that I hope matured the music," he says. "I was discovered while on the road."

It's in Atlanta where Simms made his bones as an artist. He even wound up staying in the ATL before returning to Philly. He now travels back and forth. "The culture of music is different in Atlanta," says Simms. "They support their own. That's why Atlanta has been a continuous staple of the music scene for so long. I wish it was like that in Philly. Hands down, we have the best talent out there but everyone is doing their own thing. I think Philly could have a stronger presence if we moved more as one unit."

Simms is hoping his own presence in the biz grows deeper. He was signed to Sony in 2005 and got dropped due to a management switcheroo. He's pragmatic about Def Jam's slow pace and is even working on his sophomore CD, RSVP, due later in 2009.

"I'm glad I was able to experience (the industry pitfalls) early on," says Simms. "I'm stronger now."

He sounds it too. I just want him to get off the road and settle in. It's good for the soul.