Adrian Marcel is smooth, soulful, and smart. He’s also independent. After a stint on a major label, the R&B singer felt like he lost sight of himself. “I was depending on management, I was depending on the label, I was depending on people to do things that I could have done. You know? But you as an artist were taught to be comfortable being the artist, right?” he says during his EXCLUSIVE interview with HollywoodLife. After taking a break to refocus, he returned to music with ’98th,’ his new album on his own label. Considered one of his best works year, ‘98th’ sees Adrian take R&B in a new direction – his own. Heading back to his home in Oakland seemed to do the trick, and he’s ready to tour and bring this new, revigorated sense of himself to all his fans. During our talk, he spoke about the significance of the title, how he values family over all, and why he’s happy to be independent.