(Photo: Brad Paris for New York Magazine)

Taste: I love R&B and hip-hop. The only thing I don’t like is the hip-hop with too much cursing in it—“F– this, F– that.” I like the more positive stuff.

What’s new and exciting? There’s a lot of really great albums. Ja Rule, Jay-Z with Linkin Park, Destiny’s Child. And I love the Ciara album. Her voice and her beats are off the hook.

Wish list: I’d get Usher to do another album. He can sing, he can perform—he’s everything! Plus he looks good. He’s perfect. I think I’d have him work with Puffy or R. Kelly. Actually, maybe I’d have Kanye West produce. His album is great.

Current irritant: I don’t like when they say an album is coming out and it doesn’t come out until, like, six months later. For the last couple of years that’s been happening all the time, like with the Game album or John Legend. They give a release date, and suddenly it’s not coming out until the next year. And the customers all come in expecting you to have it. It’s frustrating.

Related:

• Archive: “Music Features”
• Table of Contents: Jan 10, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!