Mariah Carey News

(6/15/02, 7 a.m. ET) - Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are among the producers working with Mariah Carey on her Island Def Jam debut that has not yet been scheduled for release. The duo, which has produced for Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, and Boyz II Men, among numerous others recently explained the types of songs they are collaborating on with Carey:

Jam said the songs they have recorded with Carey so far, are primarily slow-tempo: "The things we're doing with here are very much classic, singer-songwriter type songs, ballads, that really explore the range and the incredible voice that she has. Just letting her be an artist," he noted. "You know, we're co-writing all of the songs with her, co-producing with her, and we've done, I think four or five songs thus far, and we're really happy with all of them. Not sure whether all of them will get used or not, but we're really happy with what we've done thus far. She's very re-energized, very excited, and thus far been a fun project to work on."

Jam didn't know, however, whether Carey would address her nervous breakdown last year that resulted in her being hospitalized: "I'm not sure. We haven't dealt with it yet," he said. "But that doesn't mean that we won't maybe deal with it or maybe she'll address it. Although, it wouldn't be the crux of the album. It would maybe be one song on an album that addresses it. But it wouldn't be like, become a theme for an album."

In addition to Jam and Lewis, Carey is reportedly working DJ Quik, and the Murder Inc. production camp, whose credits include Ja Rule, Ashanti, and J. Lo.

-- Billy Johnson Jr., Los Angeles

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