3T belong to one of one the richest families in the world of pop. Their first album 'Brotherhood' has been received with open arms by millions of fans the world over. They are now musicians in their own right.
Teri fields had a chat with them about love, religion and their lifestyle…
Your songs are mostly about love. Are any of you dating a girl?
Taj: No. There used to be someone in my life though. In fact, when we were making our album Brotherhood, we all had girlfriends. But all that changed. We are away travelling so much that it's too hard to have girlfriends.
Is it something that bothers you?
Taj: Yes, it does bother us because love is very important. We're very young and it means a lot to us to feel needed and to feel wanted. Feeling like that can inspire you to do great things. That's why we often sing about love because it's important to the world in general.
What is the reason for moving away from each other?
Taryll: Oh, it's nothing personal! The major problem is the recording studios we work in. We all have little studios but we want to make them bigger and we don't have the space to do that in our family home. If each of us has our own place, we can make our studios as big as we want.
Will you all live around the same area?
TJ: Of course. We won't be that far away because we care about each other and we have fun together. I think Taryll and I will live in the same complex, in the same apartment area, and we're only moving about two minutes from home, so it's not that far. Still, it's a big move for us because we're so close as a family that a little tiny step is already a big step for us.
Your family are Jehovah's Witnesses. What do you do differently?
Taryll: For a start, we don't do things like celebrate Christmas. We've never done, not even as kids. We might get together but only because it's a holiday period and we love to see our grandparents and aunts and uncles who are also of the same faith. Even then, because they are also Jehovah's Witnesses, not everyone would be meeting up because they don't make Christmas special. Half the family is usually missing at that period. Instead, we get together for New Year's that's our main celebration.
Do you celebrate birthdays?
Taryll: Yeah. For our birthdays our friends come around, so we celebrate our birthdays. We don't do the Jehovah's Witnesses thing all the time. We only believe in some of the stuff, like not doing drugs and stuff like that, but we don't see anything wrong with birthdays at all. Because it's a fun time.
What do the Jackson family do when they celebrate together?
TJ: We always do the same things but we look forward to it because we enjoy being with our family, We play boardgames, laugh, watch TV, and talk a lot. Even though it's the same each time, it's very special when the whole family is around.
When you are old enough to have grandchildren and they come over, and sit on your knee, what will you tell them about the 3T days?
TJ: I won't be the kind of grandfather who just sits his grandchildren on his knee. I'll be playing basketball! But if we were chatting while playing basketball, I'd say how much fun it all was; I'd tell them how we got to write and record songs, which we could share with our fans. I'd say that being in 3T was probably the greatest time of our lives.
When was the last time you were perfectly happy?
Taryll: I love what I do, but I don't think that I'm ever happy. There's always something I can do better. I think we're all perfectionists and perfectionists can't really be happy too much, even though we are optimistic people. I've been happy, but it's never perfect for us. We are always striving to do better.
What can make your day?
TJ: A lot of things can make my day: good reports on our music, a great basketball game, a baseball game. But fans always make my day. Their love is wonderful. It really is. Sometimes you feel depressed or are down and when you go out and see that you are wanted and appreciated, then that's a good thing. It would be very difficult without them. They are very important to us.
What would you change to make it a better place?
Taj: I think the most important thing would be to ensure less violence and racism. I think it can be done with the help of the media, especially TV, because it influences people so much. I would hope that such a programme would become as popular as The X-Files!
If 3T could make a new law, what law would you make?
Taryll: I think my birthday should be celebrated worldwide! No. It would have to be to get rid of all weapons. Guns are legal in America but they shouldn't be. I would like to see a world with no weapons whatsoever. No missiles, nothing.