His big break came in 1992, playing Michael Jackson's older brother Jackie in the TV miniseries "The Jacksons: The American Dream." But Howard describes it as his first real mistake. "I got sidetracked," he recalls. "I kept thinking, I'll get a music deal somehow, even though I couldn't play anything at the time. I thought because I was a songwriter, because I had dreams it would work out." But now that Howard is a movie star, hasn't he been treated well by acting? "She was a slut. She was a slut," Howard says, glowering. "She wasn't as truthful as the music." "Truth" is a concept that Howard mentions often during this afternoon interview - whether it's referring to the sound of his new music, describing the message of his musical heroes ("The audacity to be honest" is what he likes about The Carpenters) to what kind of singer Marlon Brando would have been ("I don't think he would have been concerned with his voice; I think he would have been more concerned with the message he was trying to deliver with his voice"). Though he's dressed in a trendy fur-lined hoodie, T-shirt and jeans, being contemporary is not a priority when it comes to his music. Howard, whose gruff and sometimes surly attitude recalls some of his more menacing on-screen characters, scorns much of what's new ("It's garbage - listen to it!" he declares as a rap song plays in the background) and spends his time in the store searching for classics. His rare smiles come when he finds prized jewels, such as a Nina Simone greatest hits album. "That's my Nina," he says softly as he holds the disc in his hands, then asks one of his two children, who have accompanied him, to sing a verse from the late legend.
Howard says he could have had a record deal sooner had he been willing to compromise: After initially getting resistance from record labels - "They told me 'You do not look like Justin Timberlake, and this ain't happening" - his convincing portrayal of D-Jay, the pimp and aspiring rapper in "Hustle & Flow," changed people's minds. While Howard wouldn't pass up an "Iron Man 2" and says he'll always strive to do his best as an actor, he hopes to make it his "day job." Plenty of other actors have musical sidelines, but Howard scowls when asked if he has modeled his side hustle on any two-talent stars: "I'm not really overly interested in what other people are doing. ... We're not supposed to be trying to imitate anyone else or be like anyone else but ourselves." That philosophy informs his music as well. While some of his songs sound a bit Seal-ish, a sampling of elaborately orchestrated tracks played for this reporter sounded like an anomaly compared with today's radio hits. When asked where his songs fit in the contemporary musical landscape, Howard replies curtly: "It don't fit. It's not supposed to. The moment it starts fitting in, I need to quit."