R&B and soul recording artist Ke’Shay Love has a smile that lights the room. Ke’Shay recently released the hit single Breathless. The success of Breathless surprised Ke’Shay, “It is very overwhelming. I can say I’m very, very blessed. I didn’t expect it to do what it’s been doing.”
I listened to all of Ke’Shay Love’s music, and I think there’s a hint of hip hop to the song Boyz All Pause. Ke’Shay explained that she has hip hop in her background: “I can go each way. I think the hip hop portion brings a little bit more energy, the same way the pop does. Vocally, R&B and soul is where I am, but I still have that energy for the pop music and the hip hop music.”
Like many vocalists, Ke’Shay Love started singing in church. “The choir is a platform for children to really get a boost in singing, because you have all the loving. No one criticized.” As she got older, Ke’Shay moved into hip hop bands. She got back into singing when she started hanging around singers. They heard me sing and said, “What are you doing?”
So, Ke’Shay Love started taking lessons. “I did take voice and music theory, and I tried to learn how to play the piano.” Then, she started laughing, “I tried. It did not work. I can’t get that left-hand thing going.” She’s also had a few vocal coaches. Ke’Shay advises, “I always say that for any singer, even if you sing well, learning more is never a bad thing. You always can perfect your craft. That’s how I’ve gotten better and better over the years.” Plus, you don’t want to destroy your voice.
Ke’Shay likes to collaborate with male singers, just to get the insight of the opposite sex. “I want to get their point of view. I recently started writing new material and I’ve been collaborating with some R&B male singers to bring both aspects together. They hear things that I may not hear. They bring something extra that I couldn’t think of myself.” She smiled and added, “I want males to listen to my music too.”
Ke’Shay Love says that she’s on social media “every day, all day. If I’m not tweeting, then I’m on Facebook posting or I’m on Instagram posting. Releasing the song Breathless last month has encouraged me to be on social media more. Now that I have my own product, I have to. That way, when people ask me questions, I tell them to go out to my Facebook or out to my Twitter. It’s all there.”
Her advice to other recording artists is simple: “Promote yourself. The key thing is that you cannot wait for other people to do it for you. A lot of people think that they have so much talent that they can get other people to do the work for them. That’s not the case. You have to promote your own brand. These days, people are not going to work with you unless they know you can do your own promotion. If they can see that drive in you, then they’ll be more willing to help you. If you don’t believe in your brand, then no one else will.”
Ke’Shay continues, “As I’ve been working in music, I’ve also learned the Do’s and the Don’ts. My biggest thing is that we have to give back. In the same way that someone has shown me how to do something or connect with someone, I’m going to give it to someone else. It’s seems like people don’t share information. It’s just information, not a bunch of money. I’m just telling you something that you can do, and I want you to go out and do the same thing.”
Now that Breathless is such a huge success, Ke’Shay Love wants to produce a video to go with the song. “The one thing about doing this independently is that you end up footing the bill for everything, and you don’t realize how much things cost until you start paying for them. I got the single out. That’s a great thing. I finally got distribution for it, so that’s working its way, but they also want a video. So, now I’m in the process of raising money and getting investors. Then, you can actually see the song, in addition to hearing it.”
I love Ke’Shay Love’s energy. She ended the interview with: “Keep it positive. Keep pushing. Try to think ahead. Think positive that everything is going to get better.” Of course it will.
Watch the complete video interview on the Amused Now YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/kQVoEbL7-F8
The Amused Now Featured Artist Series
Ke’Shay Love
www.keshay.com
@4Keshaylove
Facebook
Instagram
Cynthia Kahn, Founder of Amused Now
@Amused_Now
Facebook
Google+
YouTube