Theophilus London

"Girls make everything better," Theophilus London says. "I just love women." Explanation not necessary. You could guess as much from his other preferences, from writers ("Girl interviewers are better than guy interviewers") to business meetings ("I'd rather sit down with a chick"). He likes girls so much he calls them out twice in his single "Girls, Girls, Money."

But right now that love refers to his appreciation of female singers. They pop up everywhere on his debut album, Timez Are Weird These Days. Instead of merely backing him, they get voices of their own throughout the record. Sara Quin, of Tegan and Sara, plays the other side of an international phone call in a sexy, Biggie-meets-Prince slow jam called "Why Even Try," which describes a relationship falling apart over long distance. Solange Knowles joins London on "Flying Overseas,"a sweeter, bass-heavy love song from his Lovers Holiday EP. He wrote that one "over a couple Skype calls, screen grabbing pictures and writing lyrics to a girl." Whether by Skype or by song, London is used to long-distance communication. The Trinidad-born, Brooklyn-raised singer just moved to SoHo, but travels often to London, Stockholm and Los Angeles for recording sessions and shows. His nights are uneven and chaotic. A few days before we talk, London DJed at the Standard Hotel, spinning his new album for the jacuzzi-enhanced room. Other nights are less exciting: "Like last night I ate soup and watched The Green Hornet," he shrugs. "That's alone time." He packed for Paris the next day.

As a theme, globetrotting dominates Timez Are Weird These Days. "To me, when I heard it last night, it sounded like raw hip-hop meets a Pakastani pop star singing his heart out and a dude from Brooklyn telling a story straight-up," he says. There's oversized funk ("Stop It") and indie-pop synth ("All Around The World"). His declaration of intent on "Last Name London" is built on a taut rhythm and eerie background chants. And, in a case of art imitating life, it name drops both Cole Haan (who he modeled for earlier this year) and girls "who get naked on Skype." Despite the lyrical focus on texts and phone calls, each song inspires movement, whether across the world or across a club. While he claims that his life and music revolve around "traveling and being a bachelor and always dressing cool," the more humble pop culture-obsessed kid who made mixtapes in his bedroom occasionally makes an appearance. When talking about his latest clothing purchases, he excitedly says that a vest he wore on Letterman may have once belonged to Tupac. And he chose his jewelry because it reminds him of Wesley Snipes in New Jack City. But then his girl-crazy side kicks back in: Theophilus proudly mentions that he wore a female friend's school sweater to his PAPER photoshoot. "She went to an all-girls high school in Arizona."

WHAT'S ON HIS SUMMER PLAYLIST
"Hypnotize U," N.E.R.D.
"Look at Me Now," Chris Brown
"Horse & Carriage," Cam'ron
"Nasty," Janet Jackson
"Hot, Raw, Sex," Jimmy Edgar

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