by GERARD DEE

Carl Henry loves his car. In fact, he feels so comfortable in “Betsy,” his ’98 Jeep Cherokee, that he actually leaves his home to sit in his car to talk to me. “I’m weird like that,” Henry chuckles.

All joking aside, Henry’s on a roll these days, thanks to two hot singles released in the last year and a half, “Homie’s Girl” and “Bare As She Dare,” and his recently released third album I Wish, which has already spawned yet another hit single with the infectious title track.

“‘I Wish’ was recorded almost two years ago,” Henry says about the song. “We were 20 songs deep into recording stuff for this album, and then we went back to listening to some of the stuff that I recorded a while back, and the song just jumped out at us. The thing about ‘I Wish’ is that it’s a very pop and R&B tune, but it still has a tropical feel to it.”

That tropical influence permeates the entire set, a distinct departure from his two previous albums, RNB and Solution RNB, which were released simultaneously back in 2002.

“One of the big differences in this album, compared to the last ones, is that this is a much more dance-oriented album because of the whole reggae-dancehall-R&B blend of everything.”

Needless to say, Henry’s in a good place these days. “I’m just really excited about everything, and I think the album is such a growth—my growth as a writer and as a vocalist.”

With the single off to a solid start, Henry is looking forward to a busy touring schedule in 2006, which may include opening slots for some likeminded artists such as Shaggy or Sean Paul. And while he’s happy with the new album’s momentum, he’s cognizant of the fact that he has to keep the momentum going.

“I’m doing what I like to do, and I consider that a success. But it’s also a business, so we hope to achieve a certain standard of success. You obviously hope that it’s a commercially successful album for the label’s sake. And as an artist, you just hope more and more people discover who you are.”