Sweat Is Worked Up About Sales

Keith Sweat is a competitor. He was pleased about a recent review but noted the critic preferred fellow singer Al B. Sure. His latest album has gone platinum, but he’s still keeping an eye on the progress of Johnny Gill.

So when Sweat makes records, he thinks about what sells. Songs about relationships do better, he insists, whether they’re about getting together or breaking up.

The singer also tries to imagine what he likes to hear on the radio, and beyond that, what the average buyer looks for in a record store. Sweat, dipping into his considerable royalties, decided to be one of those buyers.

“Most artists are not record-buyers,” the singer noted in an interview at the Manhattan offices of Elektra Records. “They don’t have to buy records; they can get them for free. If you’re with a company, and you want an album, you tell somebody you want an album and they’ll go get it for you.

“If I go to a store and actually buy records . . . I’m more aware of what it’s like to decide what to get.”

The music on his new album, “I’ll Give All My Love to You,” is a mix of hip-hop and soul, what’s come to be known as “new jack swing.”

Demographics count, too. Take “Merry Go Round.” It was conceived during a sound check in London when the singer heard some carnival music. He was reminded of the hit “Side Show,” a Philadelphia-style ballad recorded by Blue Magic in 1973.

Soon, Sweat had a ballad of his own, with an easy, sinuous groove and a message he’s sure will appeal to record customers of all ages.

“ ‘Merry Go Round’ could relate to anybody,” he insisted. “ ‘Merry Go Round’ could appeal to kids. They like it because I’m singing about merry-go-rounds, and they’re thinking about amusement parks.

“When adults are singing, they’re thinking about a relationship, when you go through changes over and over again, like a merry-go-round. It was a gimmick to make all age limits like it.”

Sweat, a native of Harlem, grew up two blocks from the famous Apollo Theater. Marvin Gaye was his idol. He figures he was like a lot of kids, dreaming about being a singer, practicing dance steps in front of his mirror the way others today pretend they’re Michael Jordan on the playground. At age 14 he began singing and was soon working on his own material.

“I would just write lyrics on paper,” he said. “I would also make ‘em rhyme. ‘Your love is true, I’ll always love you.’ I never tried it out on girls, but I knew the stuff I was writing was pretty cool to me.”

Sweat began shopping songs around, including one called “I Want Her.” There were no takers.

He would have settled for anyone but came up empty. Reluctantly, he did the song himself, including it on his debut album, “Make It Last Forever,” released in 1988.

“I Want Her” topped the black charts and reached No. 3 on the pop charts. It also helped the album sell more than 3 million copies. Still, Sweat is even prouder that he produced the song.

“Singers get the limelight,” he said. “But producers get more respect. In the business, it’s who produced the record, who wrote the record. I’m a firm believer that if you want my songs, I got to produce my songs.”

He doesn’t see himself as a great singer, such as Luther Vandross, but one who makes the most of his ability. Gaye once observed that he improved as a vocalist by telling himself to “relax, just relax,” and Sweat said releasing tension makes it easier to express himself with emotion.

And that’s about the only time he does let down. “Make You Sweat,” a hit single from his new album, is more than a clever takeoff on his name; it’s a way of life. Radios, records and trade magazines are all influences, ingredients in a recipe for prime-time new jack swing.

“I listen to Babyface and Bobby Brown, and I just went and bought some Marvin Gaye records. But I think I’ve also established myself. I don’t have to follow in anyone’s footsteps,” Sweat said.

“Before me there was no new jack swing, and I wanted to start a new jack swing era.

“Everything started with ‘I Want Her.’ Once you create a style, you become the creator of something. People look at you to be a leader.”