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Wanna hear an album with a lot of love on it? Been missing some soulful, slickly-produced R&B in your system? Give Antonio Neal's debut Days of My Life (EMI Gospel) a spin. Years before flying solo, the vocalist honed his skill singing on other people's records and making cameo appearances on projects by the likes of GRITS and Stacie Orrico, and his abilities show. But that wasn't the first skill he honed. Way before music, basketball was his first true love. The 6-foot-4 Neal got game. And his full scholarship to Texas A&M University is all he needs to prove it. In this candid conversation, Neal talks about his past, his dashed hoop dreams, and how he was later able to score a music career in the wake of it.

You've been singing on other people's records for a number of years. Why wait until now to branch out on your own?

Antonio Neal I've been doing my solo thing kind of underground for a long time. I think it's just the timing. Urban gospel, urban soul, soul inspirational, however you want to call it, still really doesn't have a home yet. No one is really making an investment with it [at] a major label. But all that time of me working with others, I needed that "boot camp." I needed that to get me ready.

So, where does your new album "fit" musically?

Neal My record, Days of My Life, is for the person who loves God but that, at the same time, is an urban dweller. That doesn't really fit in a traditional mold. Music companies nowadays are built on tradition, and there isn't a lot of urban inspirational music. But now there's urban churches and hip-hop churches popping up all over the country, so now we actually have a platform to steadily give people a dose of what we do.

Considering how huge urban and R&B music is in mainstream circles, why do you think it's taken Christian music so long to catch up?

Neal You want me to be honest with you? I think there's a lot of people who are afraid of the urban culture. A lot of the stuff is aimed at the suburbs, but you got cats like me, T-Bone, Lisa McClendon, Debra Killings-and we look different. We sound different. And people think like we're worldly or something. I live in Nashville. At these music companies, there aren't a lot of urban people-and I'm not talking about skin color. I'm talking about people who live and breathe this music after hours, before hours, on weekends. There aren't a lot of people [like that] in the industry.

With my album, I try to include people from all cultures and all types of backgrounds. That's the thing that's lacking from what I've seen-musicians who have the desire to reach everyone. For so long we haven't had an opportunity. But things are changing. EMI Gospel is really pushing some things to give me an opportunity to step out.

You weren't always a singer. You started off as a basketball player. Tell me about that.

Neal Basketball is my first love; I still love basketball more than music. I played in high school, and my coach back in St. Louis really worked with me. He believed that I had the potential to be college material. God really blessed me with some natural skills. And I was the kid walking down the sidewalk or waiting at the bus stop with a basketball in his hands.

Did you believe you had a chance to make it to the NBA?

Neal Man, when I was at my prime, there was no doubt in my mind. Anybody that's successful has that attitude. With basketball, I wanted to dominate. I thought I could dominate you no matter if you were 7 feet tall. I'm only 6-4, so I'm not very tall for basketball. But in my mind, that didn't matter. When I was in top physical shape, I could put my elbow on the rim. I thought I couldn't be stopped because I worked hard to get there. It wasn't just arrogance. I lifted weights. I ran. I watched videos. I stayed after practice with my coach to go over techniques. I really thought I could've gone somewhere.

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