What would make a perfectly respectable English singer adopt a funny stage name and dye his hair Kim Novak blond? “Three or four years ago, I was feeling rather overlooked,” Mr. Hudson explains. “So I decided to go from the minimum to the maximum. I’m no longer gonna stand in the queue of nice guys with guitars, saying, ‘Hi, my name is Ben Hudson!’ ” Mr. Hudson’s Awaken the Giant Within–style manifesto quickly upended his life. Kanye West was a fan of Hudson’s 2007 UK debut,Tale of Two Cities, so when Hudson recorded a new track, he just went ahead and e-mailed the damn thing to West. “I knew they had started recording Jay-Z’s new album,” Hudson says. “Half in jest, I wrote, ‘Need a hand with The Blueprint 3?’ ” Mr. West’s answer was Yes, actually. So Hudson was dispatched to L.A., where he and Kanye recorded “Young Forever” for Hova. Next, they set up shop in Hawaii and began hammering out Kanye’s album 808s & Heartbreak. (Hudson advised West on his singing and contributed vocals of his own.) After Mr. Hudson completed his tour of duty as a singer-slash-consultant to hip-hop’s top-ranking generals, he was honorably discharged back to his humdrum existence in a makeshift studio above a North London pub called the Enterprise. The stress of his new double life led to a breakup with his girlfriend, but at least he had a record deal inked. So he got to work on Straight No Chaser, his U.S. debut, out later this year. The result is lyrically heart-torn power pop built from drum machines, new-wave keys, and Hudson’s to-the-max vocals that recall Police-era Sting. "Kanye’s advice was, ‘Right, you’re a pop star, get over it,’ " Hudson says. "So I kept reminding myself to make it a swift kick in the balls."—WILL WELCH
Article from gq magazine
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