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Carl Thomas is most known for his classic love ballads “Summer Rain,” “I Wish” and “Emotional.” The crooner has a way of translating heartbreak into soulful music. After some years, Thomas has resurfaced to the R&B world with Conquer; bringing his rich voice and relationship expertise to the forefront of radio.

We recently spoke with Carl about the new release, his recipe for dealing with a broken heart and why “men bare the burden of a relationship.”

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Tell us about the new album:

The title track “Conquer” is so different. There’s a lot going on in the world right now and people just need to be encouraged. There’s not a better platform to start with than love. Every song on the album is really a metaphor for different things. The platform on the radio isn’t that even–either you hear a woman complaining or you hear a man apologizing. This album really doesn’t entail any of that it’s something to have fun to really live to.

Favorite love song on the album?

There’s a song called “Sweet Love” on the album. The song was really inspired by the basement parties you used to have in Junior High where it was like, turn the red light on and have a bunch of kids in the basement doing things they was not supposed to be doing!

Were you one of those kids?

I was the kid giving the basement parties [Laughs]!

Recipe for dealing with a heartbreak:

Time is the perfect recipe, it allows you to look back at the situation from different angles.

What age was your greatest heartbreak?

Seventh grade. A lot of times people take puppy love for granted but it hurts the worse. Your so vulnerable there’s really nothing to support it. There’s no experience that you can look back on with that. You just been hit by a truck.

What happened?

She was an eight grader and she wound up getting with a 9th grader. She went for the older guy.

Favorite song on the album?

That’s like asking me which one of my kids I like the most. I would definitely say, if I had to have a favorite it would be “Not The Same.” It’s about:in relationships, guys have a harder time letting go than women do. When a woman is done, she is done, she ain’t coming back. Guys we have a problem letting go, even when we know its a wrap and things aren’t the same anymore; we’ll just hang on. That’s the very reason they end up with four or five situations at the same time.

Is that why mean cheat?

It has to deal with a number of things:

The ratio between men and women; fear of commitment which is based off the playing field not really being even in the relationships. In a relationship a man bares more of the responsibility for the success or failure of the relationship. The burden of responsibility is really on the man because if it doesn’t work out, whose fault is it? Who’s charged with the most responsibility? If my family doesn’t eat its my fault. Whether a man takes up his cross and does it, is another thing.

Have women become overly independent?

I don’t think that women are overly independent, I just think that we a products of the rules and we don’t make the rules.. The powers that be decide the jobless rate. There’s no romance without finance. Our relationships are side effects of our society. Music has changed because love has changed.  Black people aren’t in love the way they used to be back in the 70’s when everyone was working.

Feelings on the current state of R&B?

I don’t have a problem with it and I’m frankly surprised that so many people do. Music is always trying to be new. It’s really important that the present and the past allow the future to be the future. Everyone wants to live, there needs to be more of an olive branch between the generations.

We hear that you have an ice cream coming out…

I have an ice cream that will be in your grocers freezer($3.50), its for adults–18 and over and it’s called “sexing ice cream.” I have a flavor called Caramel Carl Thomas. When you lift the pint of ice cream there are facts about me that people never knew.

What is one of those facts?

I like to feed a woman in bed.

A tip for using the ice cream:

Use a bib!

Purchase Conquer, here!

More soul..click here for Robin Thicke’s tour dates!