Bobby Valentino has left his contract with Def Jam records, seemingly because he (like everyone here at Idolator), was bummed at the lack of attention his last album, Special Occasion, and its outstanding Timbaland-assisted single “Anonymous” received. He claims to still be cool with former label Disturbing Tha Peace and its owner Ludacris (”I was with them last night at the club”), and that he’s just psyched to be one of those independent, digitally oriented artists you hear so much about these days.

Well, a lot of people don’t know, but I’m gonna put it out there right now. You’re hearin’ it first: I’m no longer with Disturbing Tha Peace or Def Jam. I’m kinda out there on my own, independent right now. So it was a good situation, how I’ve been with DTP and Def Jam for three years, wrote a lot of records, made a little money, but most of all it was a learning experience for me. I learned a lot, but everybody at DTP and Def Jam gave me the opportunity to kinda step out on faith and do my own thing. So that’s my goal right now, is kinda trying to do my own thing. I went to college, I have a college degree, so I’m really tryin’ to put all of that into effect. I’m really tryin’ to be a businessman as well as an artist. I always learned growin’ up that this is not the music business, this is the business of music, you know? I’m really just tryin’ to step up my game business-wise, start my own label, and this EP that I’m comin’ out with, ‘Come With Me,” it really is for my fans, my true fans out there, that’s always blogging, that’s always on my MySpace, that’s always searchin’ Bobby Valentino, because I feel like there’s not a lot of good music out there.

The quality of his new single, “Your Smile (feat. Lil Wayne),” bodes well for the eventual release of his planned 2008 album, Underground Love. But information superhighway or not, it seems like a rough time for a young singer to trade powerful friends for artistic freedom.

Bobby Valentino Interview [DJ Booth]
[PHOTO: WENN]