Marques Houston on 'The Best Worst Year,' Lessons in Fatherhood and Being Called 'Underrated': 'I'm Happy' (Exclusive)

Marques Houston on 'The Best Worst Year,' Lessons in Fatherhood and Being Called 'Underrated': 'I'm Happy' (Exclusive) https://ift.tt/lFceX8U

'The Best Worst Year' is out now

Miya Houston

Marques Houston

• Marques Houston released his fourth studio album, The Best Worst Year, on Aug. 31
• The actor and singer details how marriage and fatherhood shifted his priorities
• Houston, who starred in Sister, Sister, reflects on growing up in the industry

Marques Houston is embracing the dichotomy in his life.

The singer and actor released his highly anticipated fourth studio album, The Best Worst Year Ever, on Friday, Aug. 31. On the record, Houston found inspiration by living what he considers to be the "best worst year."

"I experienced death. I experienced a lot of pain," he says. "But then [there was] so much going on that was so good at the same time."

"I was just like, this is confusing because emotionally (his manager) Chris' mom passed away. She was like a mother to me. It was so many different things that felt like they were crumbling in my world," he continues. "But at the end of the day, my core, which is my wife, my kids, my family was going well."

The Sister, Sister alum, 43, who was also doing well career-wise with his production company Footage Films, then asked himself what his priorities were: "Was it success or was it happiness?"

Related: Marques Houston and Wife Miya Welcome Baby Boy, Son Greyson: 'Couldn't Feel More Complete'

"Through all of that, I really saw that what was most important to me is my foundation and my family foundation," Houston, who shares son Greyson, 9 months and daughter Zara, 2, with wife Miya, says. "At the end of the day, after all that bad happened, my son was born. So it was the best worst year ever that I ever had."

Houston, who played Roger Evans on the '90s sitcom Sister, Sister, quickly learned that his foundation is what keeps him grounded.

"My wife, she's such an incredible person. She keeps me levelheaded. She keeps my ego in check. my two kids, they're just the best two things I've ever seen or witnessed in my life," he says.

Looking back on his journey as a child star, the "Circle" singer recalls taking it all in as "fun." When he got older, he began to realize how "how the business worked" — but he hit some "low points" along the way.

Johnathan Franklin

Marques Houston family

"There's some phony people, there's some real people," he says. "All of those things in my 20s started to develop. As I got older, the more I started focusing more on what kind of man I wanted to be instead of what kind of artist I wanted to be."

Now, he's happy where he is — and he details that feeling on a song on the album called "Tired of Hollywood."

"I'm speaking my truth on how I feel like I've been treated as an artist and the things that I've done throughout my career. I've been called underrated more than I've been called successful," he explains. "I'm just tired of it all. Now as a man, I don't need it either. I'm happy where I'm at, I'm financially stable, I have a great family and I don't need it. That song really speaks volumes to me as a person and as an artist."

When he's not working, Houston — who says fatherhood opened up his eyes to a "different tone of living" — looks forward to the "little moments" with his family.

Related: Marques Houston Says Being a Dad Is One of His 'Biggest Accomplishments': 'Family Is First'

"Nowadays with the news and this and that and social media, it's good to just be positive. Sometimes you just got to lock yourself in the house and be with your family and your friends and your loved ones," he says, adding that his son has "the best laugh in the world."

Being a father taught Houston "patience," which he says he had "zero" of growing up.

"Everybody that knows me will tell you Marques has no patience," the "Naked" singer says. "But I didn't know I had patience until I was a husband and a father because that is one thing that you must have is patience, especially with kids, because they will run them nerves up the wall."

With the album finally out into the world, Houston hopes that people can feel the passion that went into its making. Looking back on his discography, it's his favorite project thus far — and he shares the biggest lesson he learned along the way.

"You should be a light, a beam of light in this negative world," he says.

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