R&B singer/songwriter Kevin Ross talks about responsible gatekeeping and the inspiration behind his latest musical project, Love Uptempo Volume 1, and his new single, “Love in the Middle.”
Let’s talk about Love Uptempo Volume 1. How does that differentiate from your previous work?
I think, honestly, it’s more so a rhythm and energy thing. Right now, I’m in a phase of high vibrational R&B. And so that’s kind of my focus. It is far more than just a faster tempo compared to my previous music. I focused on mid and uptempo, with no ballads. The slowest tracks are two-step records. My goal was to be intentional about the vibrations I bring into the music.
Your lead single is “Love in the Middle.” How does that set the tone for your forthcoming project?
It’s kind of self-explanatory in the sense of taking the time out to put love in the middle of something that I’m passionate about, which is my music. I wanted to make sure that this record became a bridge. You know, something that my mama would like, and my little brother and my cousins would bob to in their car. I bring everybody together before I start to bring the entire offering. I think this is a great starting point because you can hear where I’ve been as it pertains to previous records, and then you can hear where I’m going all within “Love in the Middle.”
When it came to “Love in the Middle,“ what was the inspiration for that song in particular?
I wrote and co-produced “Love in the Middle” with Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony from out of Nashville, Tennessee. We wanted to home in on the blue-collar lovers. That means the UPS workers, the nurses, the teachers, everybody that gets up and hustles and bustles with their nine-to-five. I felt like they were being overlooked and underserved within R&B.
There wasn’t enough music made for them, for people who really want to be in love or stay in love or just enjoy themselves and songs to encourage how to love themselves. And that was our focus and purpose of it.
How do you balance running your record label, Art Society Music Group, as well as focusing on your own career and artistic endeavors?
It’s all in the same. For one, I just have to detach. So, when I’m in the creative mindset, I’m just kind of spewing out how I feel, what I’ve experienced, what I’ve witnessed, and my thoughts and certain things. When that’s all said and done, I have to detach myself. Kevin Ross is a brand. And this new project, Love Uptempo, is the new product that we’re selling from the brand. I have to then relay that to the team with the vision of it.
I tell them my expectations of what I want to accomplish with this project… I think it’s more so about compartmentalizing. I’m not taking too much personally, and you can’t be so emotional that you can’t function or scale and grow your brand because you’re so attached to the music.
Some so many artists are out here trying to have labels, but many of them fall short in balancing their own careers at the same time. What kind of artists or what kind of talent are you looking to acquire as far as furthering your legacy in music?
I’m looking for self-sufficient artists. One of my requirements is that whatever artists that I work with, they have to record themselves. I think that is a must in the sense of being an artist. When push comes to shove, and it’s time for you to articulate how you feel, you know, you can’t wait on the studio to do that. You have to be able to execute by all means necessary. And so that’s definitely one of the requirements that I’m looking at. They also have to be able to translate recordings into live performances as well in order for me and them to stand next to each other on stage, you have to be able to hang. And you have to make sure that you elevate whatever was in that record live so that people can believe you and so that you can have kind of a track record and build a hard ticket sale history with your future fan base. So, those are the two things for sure.
You are among the very few artists in today’s R&B that can actually sing. There are a lot of melodic artists out there, but why is it so important to you to maintain your vocal ability?
That’s the thing that’s going to allow me to endure and to stay around for a long time. I think every single facet of what I’m able to do has allowed me to be in the game for over ten years. If I wasn’t in front as an artist and I was able to write. If I wasn’t able to write, then I was able to produce. And so, wearing multiple hats and being able to be a Swiss army knife within music allows you to go with the ebbs and the flows, the peaks and the valleys of certain seasons. You know, every season is not going to be spotlighted on you. During the seasons that aren’t, you have to figure out what is within your arsenal that can help somebody else’s season and become a blessing to them as well. I think that’s the name of the game for me. It is beyond just my vocals or whatever, which I feel is needed to be in R&B. It’s a lot more. You have to do more than just sing nowadays, for sure.
Having been in the game for over a decade, can you just share with us how the game has changed? How has it evolved during your career?
I was literally on the cusp of DSPs, you know, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and all that stuff. Everything was more so geared towards iTunes and ringtones. And that changed really quickly. It was like a huge shift. To be honest, I think that DSPs allow for the playing field to be a little bit more even. It gave artists creative freedom to start releasing whenever they wanted and really start to build a community. And though I think people look at it as it is not as profitable as it used to be, the old guard didn’t allow as many artists into the game. I ain’t got to be a major in order to be successful. I don’t have to sell a million records to make a million dollars. I think that’s the biggest change. So that shift, I think, was necessary. And the writing was on the wall already, even before I saw the shift. This is where we’re at. And I ain’t mad at it.
As both an artist and an executive, what are your thoughts on gatekeeping?
That is a great question. I think that there has to be a level of gatekeeping in order to keep the integrity of something intact. I do believe that. Now, at what level and who’s gatekeeping? That’s to be determined. I do think that in order to keep the integrity of it, you have to appoint the right people or the right person in order to give you that blessing. You know what I mean? Like back in the day, maybe like, two generations ago with Clarence Avon, the Black Godfather, then to Quincy Jones, you know what I mean? They never said that they were the gatekeepers. But you went through them for the approval, for the nod.
Quincy said I was dope. Nobody can tell me a thing. Stevie said I was dope. Nobody can tell me a thing. There are certain artists, or there are certain people still within the music industry that can give you that thumbs up. And when they do and when people see it, it’s like, you are legit. Whatever that I didn’t see in you, and they see in you, maybe I should reconsider. They’ve never been wrong.
So, I do believe gatekeeping is necessary, especially within Black genres, too. We have to make sure our art stays intact. That doesn’t mean that everybody else can’t play in it. We have to be clear that we can’t jump into everybody’s sandbox either without them saying something. And so, we got to have a similar energy as well. Like everybody just can’t get up and sing, and then we just be up and open arms about it. We have to really, really start to look at the future of it and how they can contribute to it in a genuine and respectful way.
Be’n Original
