The magnetic pull of music knows no bounds, and Kenny Slim's journey is a testament to that very force. From the vibrant heart of Memphis to the sun-kissed stretches of Arizona, his tale weaves through the gospel choirs of his youth to the grand stages alongside titans like Tank and Gerald Levert. Join us as Kenny unfurls the narrative of his career, revealing how a planned retreat into the shadows of writing and producing unexpectedly reignited his love for the limelight.
Navigating the complexities of the music industry can feel like an intricate dance, but with Kenny Slim as your partner, the steps seem to flow effortlessly. We converse about his love for the organic quality of live instrumentation and how it breathes life into his songwriting. He recounts the emotional backstory of "Country Boys," a song born from a deal gone awry, and shares the resilience it takes to stay true to one's artistic vision amidst the industry's turbulence. Kenny's chronicles illuminate the relentless pursuit of crafting music that resonates with the soul.
But our dialogue transcends the notes and rhythms to address the pressing issues facing Memphis today. We discuss the city's challenge with crime and the collaborative efforts needed to cultivate a safer community. As we peek into Kenny's 2024 horizon, excitement builds for his new musical collaborations and entrepreneurial ventures, which promise to echo the harmony and connection he fosters within his community and beyond. Through the shifting roles of artist, businessman, and advocate, Kenny Slim remains a beacon of creative drive and communal spirit.
If your in the music industry- singer, songwriter, composer, indie, neo singer, rapper, country artist, promoter, manager, music lawyer or blues please email me to be a guest on my show at myguest@spit2dabeat.com I would love to hear your Spit about the Music Industry.
The magnetic pull of music knows no bounds, and Kenny Slim's journey is a testament to that very force. From the vibrant heart of Memphis to the sun-kissed stretches of Arizona, his tale weaves through the gospel choirs of his youth to the grand stages alongside titans like Tank and Gerald Levert. Join us as Kenny unfurls the narrative of his career, revealing how a planned retreat into the shadows of writing and producing unexpectedly reignited his love for the limelight.
Navigating the complexities of the music industry can feel like an intricate dance, but with Kenny Slim as your partner, the steps seem to flow effortlessly. We converse about his love for the organic quality of live instrumentation and how it breathes life into his songwriting. He recounts the emotional backstory of "Country Boys," a song born from a deal gone awry, and shares the resilience it takes to stay true to one's artistic vision amidst the industry's turbulence. Kenny's chronicles illuminate the relentless pursuit of crafting music that resonates with the soul.
But our dialogue transcends the notes and rhythms to address the pressing issues facing Memphis today. We discuss the city's challenge with crime and the collaborative efforts needed to cultivate a safer community. As we peek into Kenny's 2024 horizon, excitement builds for his new musical collaborations and entrepreneurial ventures, which promise to echo the harmony and connection he fosters within his community and beyond. Through the shifting roles of artist, businessman, and advocate, Kenny Slim remains a beacon of creative drive and communal spirit.
If your in the music industry- singer, songwriter, composer, indie, neo singer, rapper, country artist, promoter, manager, music lawyer or blues please email me to be a guest on my show at myguest@spit2dabeat.com I would love to hear your Spit about the Music Industry.
and welcome to spit to the beat podcast. I'm your host. They say K beyond stopover per year. Join us right now on Facebook, but definitely go on our YouTube. We are live in full effect. This evening got a very special guest waiting to come on the show. But go to my YouTube at spit to the beat login, sign in, hit that notification bell so you can keep up with all my latest episode, the new episode as well as the latest one. You can go view every episode on my YouTube channel at spit, the number two D a, b, e a T. Thank you so much for being a part of being a listener and a sponsor of spit to the beat podcast. Look, I got a very special guest. He a native born here in Memphis but now reside in Arizona, so we gonna get him on right now. My guest this evening is Kenny slim. Hey, hey, hey, what's up?
Speaker 3:what's up, man, how you doing Stacy.
Speaker 2:I'm doing great, how you doing, brother. I am awesome man, highly favored, blessed and highly favored great, great, great glad to finally get you in on the podcast. I was super excited when I talked to Bob about you and I said, man, I got to get this man on my show so to hear all about his story in the music industry yes, sir, yes, sir, I appreciate you having me on many rhythmies a lot cool.
Speaker 3:I give us a little detail, a little history about yourself for my audience of Kenny slim, memphis, tennessee, born and raised over, you know, 25 years or so in the music industry singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, actor, done some modeling just a really extensive history and entertainment overall. And you know I'm still here, kicking man, still alive and well, yeah, working on some new material, excited about that, excited for the people to hear it and represent for the, for the M town you know that means so yeah cool, cool.
Speaker 2:Look, let's dive right into it. Man, what got you started? What was your inspiration getting into the music industry? I mean, was it from a icon that you seen on TV or someone you know you grew up knowing?
Speaker 3:just help you to fall in love into the music well, you know, I, when I was young young, you know, I mean, 10, 11, whatever I would just just hum. You know, I mean nothing, nothing real, nothing real singy, you know. I mean I didn't really know that I had the voice, my dad was a singer and his dad was a singer, but I never correlated, you know, correlated that with me and I don't know man just just singing around, humming around, and a couple of people noticed, hey, you got a pretty decent voice, you know. And at this time I was, I was in the church and whatnot.
Speaker 3:So, you know, I was asked to join the choir and when I joined the choir, the that's when I really began to notice, you know, my voice was, was special, you know, and I began to began to develop it more and more, you know, began to do solos and different things like that. And, you know, once I seen that people were like feeling my, my singing, then I just, you know, I started doing some more things. So I got into talent shows and different things like that. So, yeah, just early on, man, you know, 12, 13 years old, right in that little impressionable stage and found the love for it and I had let go, you know, I mean so yeah, so with your transition from Memphis.
Speaker 2:You know let's go up against a little of age. The transition from Memphis to Arizona. How did that come about, man?
Speaker 3:that's a, that's a big, that's a big transition. I mean we're skipping a lot of space in between.
Speaker 2:I promise I'm gonna come back yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:So me moving out to Arizona, if I'm being, if I'm being completely honest and transparent with you, it was for me to say, hey, I did my music thing. I had a blast record deals, touring work with a bunch of different artists, from tank to the Dosa to, I mean, a Gerald Leverg, you know, some writing and production. For a lot of people it is it's pretty extensive music career, music career. And when I moved out to Arizona, for me at that point I was just like, well, I'll just fall back, you know, I mean so throughout the, throughout this entire time, or as of late, for the last ten years or so, I've been writing and producing for Warner Brothers the entire time. So I've been writing and producing for different artists and producing different things for CDs and stuff that they've been releasing. So I've still been active doing that and, like I said, my idea was to just kind of push back and then just, you know, write and produce and whatnot.
Speaker 3:But some, some cats from out here heard some of my production. They heard me singing on the hooks and they was like, hey, what do you think about if I buy this song with this hook on it? Will you come out and perform with me at these different events and blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm like man cool, if I got the time I'll do it. That turned into me working on some of the more current music that I did and working in producing with a lot of artists out here. And you know just when I was trying to move out here and just try to fall back and do something else, man, it came right back in my face. You know what I mean. So it's like that. It's like that divine, divine answer is always chime and like even when, not that I was trying to put it to bed, but I was like, hey, I don't have to be on the stage. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:I know the music industry, you know the music business you make the money is in the writing and production. You know what I mean when, right, right, you can that kind of thing, right until you start working on touring and that kind of thing, you got to get some traction and get some, you know, some good booking gigs and get you a good song, obviously, and then you can start, you know, eating from from an artist side.
Speaker 2:So that's that's, yeah, yeah, so let's let now let's do backtrack a little bit in the time you signed with your first record deal, you you was in a group at that time. Yeah, tell us about the group and the name of a group and in the record deal that y'all signed, and how did that process go?
Speaker 3:So it was me with a name or the name of the group is could die. Kad oV. Kenny Allen desert original voices. So that's where the cod off come from. When we, when we first started, it was five of us and this was in high school, you know I mean. So all of us met in high school and started doing talent shows and did. We did a couple of commercials for a couple of clothing stores and you know we were moving around, we were touring, doing stuff with Black Street and a couple of the artists that were out at the time. Okay, and you know, over, you know just just touring and doing that, and then over time the group melted down to the three me, alan and dead. So that's where you get Kenny Allen, dead original voices and and and. Sorry, and let me, let me turn my phone down. Hold on one second, because people are probably seeing me live and are starting to call my phone now, which is not cool.
Speaker 2:Hey, I have had that happen to me too.
Speaker 3:Not cool at all. Okay, anyway, so me, alan and this, a few things that I'm skipping, which are, you know, it's like some, some, some, some key things that you know we we, when we were the full group or when it was four of us yeah, did have a record deal on the table with Timberlake and and his record label B Club through Sylvia Rome, and that deal ended up falling through and you know that was, you know I mean it's Timbo, you know that means so, yeah, man, it was. I mean it was like man that kind of took the steam out of, out of what we were doing at the time. You know, I mean we have so much time, plus went tears and energy into, you know, getting something real. That was a real thing, and that that fell through because one of the guys is, you know we were, we just didn't see eye to eye on on a few things, so we just decided to go a separate race and at that point it was me and me Alan and Deadry, and you know we decided to kind of keep moving and we ended up recording some music, like, like country boy and a couple other records and they got into the hands of when they're when they're brown, resting piece when they'll be great army thing, or man.
Speaker 3:He toured and put out a lot of music in the South. Man wins is a is a class act. You know I will say that he passed last year, man, and you know that that hurt. But you know, rest in peace, big win. But he got our music through a through a guy from Chicago named Jamil and, yeah, man, he like what we had going on.
Speaker 3:He came out to Memphis to meet us and him and his cousin Jehide White. Jehide is an NBA player or you know X NBA, played in the league for Washington Wizards, he paid for the Phoenix sons and know a couple other teams, you know, and he was a big team. So they decided to come together and put a record label together and you know that that's how cousin became to be. We ended up signing with them and we recorded two albums with them, did did some great things and when things weren't, things stop moving, I would say by that time we were in Atlanta and you know everybody got kids and different things going on.
Speaker 3:So he's like yo, maybe we just need to take a break for a minute. And I stayed in Atlanta and then, when he was Allen, he moved back to Memphis and dead you move back to Memphis as well. I just didn't want to come back to the Memphis man. I was one of them scenarios where I'm like yo, like not, did I feel like I will come back to the town and be like man I ain't make, I make it, or.
Speaker 3:I didn't get what I had set out for, but I just felt like it was more work for me to do and I had already, you know, I did everything in Memphis, man. So I just felt like it was, you know, needed me going back to Memphis because I knew that, I knew everything in Memphis, because I know what's happening in the end. So I just like man, I want to, I want to, you know, see what else is happening. Man, out in the world is a big old world out here. You know, so yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, look, hold tight what we're gonna do, we're gonna come back. I'm gonna take a quick break, but we're gonna come back and talk about your producing process and what you go through as far as producing in the studio and things like that as well, as we're going to touch on the two songs I talked about. Okay, okay.
Speaker 3:You're listening to Spit, to the Beat Podcast with your host, the one, the only Stacey B, unstoppable Per Year.
Speaker 2:Hey, this is Stacey, aka the Unstoppable Per Year with Spit to the Beat Podcast. Would you like to be my guest? If you're a singer, songwriter, musician, producer or promoter, give me a call at 901-341-6777 or email me at myguestsatspit2tobecom and we're back to Spit to the Beat Podcast. I'm your host, stacey AKA B Unstoppable Per Year, and we are live in the studio, the virtual studio, with my guests joining me all the way from Arizona. Kenny Slim, how you doing, man, how you doing.
Speaker 3:How you doing. I'm doing great, stacey, I'm doing great man, I'm doing great.
Speaker 2:Look, let's talk about your producing style. Okay, they already come in talking about we're gonna hear something tonight. Okay, yeah, we're getting ready for some music.
Speaker 3:How many songs did I send you? I forgot, man. It was probably you sent me a lot.
Speaker 2:I had to make a choice, but I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:My apologies for sending you so much, but, man, you know how you get to listen to the music? Yeah, exactly, you get them old jams and you just like oh, I gotta send them this. Oh, you gotta hear this one though. Oh, this is. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So when you said enjoy the listen, I knew what you were talking about then, because you had sent me a play through a song.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, I was like man, that's so much music. Let me tell them hey, I know I hit you with a lot. I don't know if you're going to have a chance to even listen through all of it. They're like really absorb it. But please do check it out, because man put, a lot of that music that you're hearing is from like early, early days, when we first started recording. You know what I mean. I still got a whole lot of. Obviously, I got a lot of the music because I sent it to you, right, but that's some of our early recordings and if you listen to it you can hear the progression of the production and the vocal and the writing and all of that up to the more current stuff. The more current stuff is the last email that I sent you.
Speaker 2:It's really good man, I'm just proud of it, what we're going to have to do. We're going to have to do a double take. I'm going to have to get you back on the show. We're just going to dive into the current stuff. Yeah, because I really didn't know at the time which one to choose when you sent me so much and I'm like man, I got to listen to everything. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's all good, though it's all good. Yeah, right, bacha, your process for you getting in the studio and you producing and writing and songwriting music. What is your process in going into doing that?
Speaker 3:So I'm a groove kind of cat. You know what I mean. I love live instrumentation. So anytime I hear anything with live instrumentation and a groove, a step to it, or you know what I mean I got a kind of groovy jam to it. Then it's easy for me. It's easy for me to write, write lyrics like that and melodies. Like I'm really fast with melodies and then even if it's me like humming, I could do that to a beat and it just marries the beat from a melody perspective. I could take that record, just me humming, whatever, and then I'll go back and then I'll put the lyrics to it. You know what I mean. So that's a. That's probably one of my favorite things to do.
Speaker 3:The reason I like doing that is because I don't like to rush the production. I don't like to rush the lyrics. I like to get the melody out. So if I'm hearing something, hearing a melody to something, and it's catchy, that's what I don't want to lose. I don't want to lose the melody that I catch from the beat when I first hear it. So if I hear something, I try to go in and if I catch some lyrics, right, then cool. But what I don't want to lose is the groove. So if I listen to a track and I catch a groove to it, I'll pop out my phone and, just, you know, hum a couple of bars, blah, blah, blah. That way I got something to work with and then bill from there.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. Let's check out Country Boys, okay.
Speaker 1:Country Boys is a record that was written by me, alan and I Okay, every year, things ain't really changed Trying to break these chains, holding me down With all these snakes on the ground. I'm trying to hold back my tears Let down through all my teenage years. But I'm striving real hard. I'm staying on the ground. I'll never be a Country Boy until it's my time. We just as Country Boys, trying to maintain Country Boys, just trying to do our thing. Yeah, country Boys, y'all listen to us sing.
Speaker 4:Country Boys, we just as Country Boys, trying to maintain Country Boys, just trying to do our thing. Yeah, country Boys, y'all listen to us sing Country Boys. Yeah, country Boys, from Bill Street to Monty.
Speaker 3:From Bill Street to Monty.
Speaker 2:Man, that is man, that's bumper, man, that's bumper. You can feel the vibe, you can feel the groove, you can feel everything in that man. That's, that's a, that's a jam that you come home.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. So man, this, when we wrote this record right, this was right after the deal didn't go through with Timberlake, okay. So you know our mentality at that point because we had been in New York, we had moved from Memphis to New York yeah, maybe two years, and you know New York, new Jersey, newark, orange, all up through there. Shout out to Sean Hunter. Stardom Entertainment is my close, close guy, still working right and produced with him till this day. He produced a lot of records on us, met him out there, juried Isaac, another killer producer in the game, did a lot of production for Joe and Gerald Verde and a couple of the cats got some connects with Drayed. You know what I mean. So we did a lot of work out there and when the deal didn't go through with Timbler, man, we, you know, like I said, that, took a little steam out the sale.
Speaker 3:So we all came back to Memphis at that point and we were just, you know, just you know me, allen and Dej was like man, we just can't stop. You know what I mean. We got too close to what we had been shooting for to just let it go. And that was the first song we wrote man sitting in my house and man put that beat on and the lyrics just came. We just wanted to come from. Come just some country boys, just gutter, and just from the South, and you know, just some good old country boys, man, you know what I mean. We just trying to do our thing. It's all in the lyrics. You know what?
Speaker 2:I'm saying Y'all recorded this song in New York or before y'all went to New York.
Speaker 3:Nah, we recorded this after we got back from New York.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so when we went to New York, you know we were doing a bunch of cover tunes and then some other records that we had you know what I mean, like called police Trouble man. You know the other records, some of them other records. That was the records that Nat Tracks, my God, in New Jersey, produced. So we were doing those in the different little spots around the city that we got. That's how we met Barry Hankerson and everybody had black ground records and that's who was gonna get behind us to do the deal with Timberland. Black ground was. You know that.
Speaker 3:So you, black ground, you talking about Timberland, genuine Aliyah, you know like it was all happening right then and yeah, so that fell through. And then we came back to Memphis and then we wrote Country Boy, just because country boys, just because we just wanted to get back to our roots. You know what I mean and let everybody know like amen. You know we the truth. You know what I mean and regardless of anybody, how anybody feel about it, and we just wanna be honest and raw about who we are and what we doing. And that's where country, that's like the essence of where it came from.
Speaker 2:Cool, cool. Let's dive right on into. You just spoke of called the police. Now, when I read the title, I like to call the police. You saw right about that. In Memphis we need to call the police. Well, all this crime going on.
Speaker 3:But again, I know now, look, I love the town, I love the town, man, but it is a lot going on in Memphis, man, and I pray things just, you know, get better.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean and it's gonna take some work, and from every spectrum you know what I mean From politicians, the mayor and police chief and the different people that are in position along with the people on the streets. You know what I mean and I feel like it's just, it's like the connection is not being made. You know what I mean, when it needs to be made in order for real change to happen. And you know what I mean, Cause I see all of it like. I see people in higher places saying they won't change and different things to happen, and then I'm not following and stalking nobody on social media or nothing like that, so I don't really really know if that's really happening. And then, at the same contrast, I got people from my neighborhood that are grassroots-ridden and just getting it out of the mud, trying to do some things and not getting no support for the people here. So I think it needs to be a bridge to another gap in order to really affect the city in a positive way.
Speaker 2:Well, hopefully with the new mayor we'll get some things done, get this crime under control, yes sir. So let's go into this. On call to police.
Speaker 3:Yes sir turn it up ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"]. ["the Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"].
Speaker 2:Man, once again, once again, let's give it up for my boy, kenny Slayton, in the building, baby Bringing the house down with these vibes, man, these sofa vibes, and great music, great harmony, all of that in those music, in those songs. Look, before we get into it, when I take another quick break we'll come back. Okay, I'm talking a little bit about you, what you got going on, new projects, stuff like that. Okay, let's do it.
Speaker 5:Don't forget to subscribe, like and follow. Thank you for your support.
Speaker 2:And we're back to spit to the beat podcast. I'm your host. They say KB unstoppable period and join me virtually in the studio all the way from Arizona, my guy R&B singer, artist, songwriter, composer dead and more Kenny sling Welcome back.
Speaker 3:Thank you, man, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Great Look, let's talk about what you got going on in 2024. What's what's? What's the goals for the year?
Speaker 3:So I mean, I run a business, I'm an entrepreneur, so you know, obviously, growing the business and keep it going. Shout out to express cargo nation LLC, one of the biggest trucking companies out here in Phoenix Arizona. We make it moves. Thank you Most high for that. Go standard transport. Just doing a little plug in this, another one of my business man you know my business partners are out here with you got a non emergency medical transport business that we got going.
Speaker 3:So some great things happening there as well. And you know, as far as his music goes, man, I got a shout out my home girl, visha, for always being right or die. You know what I mean. She always been looking out and you know you and me and Visha came up in the same neighborhood together. So you know, when you got real authentic love for you know, for people that you like really rock with you, keep the connection tight and you know you just, you know, make things happen.
Speaker 3:And she reached out to me regarding some music that by Wimbledon was putting together. He had had some lyrics and an idea that he wanted to turn into a song, essentially, and Visha thought about me and she hit me up and was like, hey, I got this record that Bob wants to turn into a song See what you can do with it and I, you know, worked on that and I ended up coming to Memphis and then getting in the studio with hot, hot rod, and hot rod paid me a couple of beats and I found one that made sense to me, that just matched the lyrics that I had to finish writing.
Speaker 3:You know, what I had was just really a skeleton. It wasn't a song formatted in no kind of way, but got that and recorded that man. So we, excited about that record, right now, think it's going to be a big hit and we're going to keep it moving from there. Man, take that, crystallize that, put it out in the streets for the people to rock to, for the clubs to jam, for the DJs and spin, for the ladies and the fellas to dance to. Two step, three step to you know what I mean and move from there. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So I can't wait to hear that one. I know Bob personally, so I can't wait to hear this song that you're going to be your, that you have arranged, and are you going to be performing a song? Yeah, yeah. So I was wondering when you're going to get back behind the mic. I know you. You say you want us.
Speaker 3:So again, like Visha reached out to me and she's like hey, I want you to work on it. So I was like okay, cool, you want me to write it, or whatnot. She was like yeah, so when I when I came to Memphis.
Speaker 3:I had came out there on some business and I was like yo, since I'm in town, let's get some studio time going on here. I got the song, or at least I got, you know, like some lyrics and different things, but I really don't have Just because I didn't really had time to like produce a beat that I thought would work for it. So she contacted her ride, I went to the studio with her ride and then did it, man, and when I recorded like a slow version, like a more R&B version of it, and then it was, and then we let Bob here and Bob was like I need something that they can dance to, can give me something that they can groove to. I like what you got, but I need something that can get them on the flow. I said okay. So I went back to the studio and there was like a hot play me some more beats and then he played this one particular track. That just worked and it was easy. You know what I mean. Like I was telling you like when it, when you get that vibe. So when I caught the vibe from, I was like yo, that like, like, like, play that, okay, okay.
Speaker 3:So I probably wrote the song and it probably took me 30 minutes to an hour to like really work out all of the lyrics. So as I was writing the lyrics, I was going into the, to the booth and then dropping. So I, once I figured out how I wanted the hook to go, I went in stack the hook, stack the vocals, the harmonies, bubble block, and then come back, listen to that. Okay, cool. Then I look at some of the lyrics Bob had and then I took a little bit of that and then piece that together. Okay, cool, cool, cool. Added to that. Okay now. I got a box on it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, drop that. No, do that. Then they did with the second verse and man by the. By the time we turn around a couple hours later, the song was done. And if everybody was in the studio, just you know, just grooving. Yeah yeah, this is the piece was like you got to do this. I'm like what you mean. She's like this. You, you weren't ready for all that one.
Speaker 3:Again you know what look so into, to confirm what it is that I'm saying like, because I was they, they know like V shape. Hot knew that I was like Because I haven't talked to him about it Like yo, I hadn't hit the stage in a little bit, it ain't like it been years and years and years. But again, just where I was in the business and the other things that had going on, I was like it's whatever, I helped y'all work with it. But, man, after they heard the song, even Hot was like Ken, you might have to come on out of retirement, man, you might have to get gone and gone and gone and go full, full throttle with this one man. Because we feel like we got some and the way you delivered it just makes sense, bro, it's just like your vibe and the way you just made it work. It makes sense the way you at, I'm like all right, I'm all for it. If y'all in, I'm in, let's do it. And then, you know, bob was Bob Once he heard that he was all in, like Ken, let's do this, let's do this. I was like all right, let's go. And there you have it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3:And like I said, man, the love for the music has always, always been there to never go away. And you know, I guess it manages divine timing. You know what I mean. You know it's trippy, right, because a year ago, almost a year to the date, I had sent Bob, because I know who, bob Wimbledon she is man, og in the game been in the town for years and years and years, right, right, when I reached out to Bob man, like a year ago, and he didn't know who I was or nothing like that, but I hit his inbox like Bob was going on I'm so-and-so, so-and-so, kenny Slim. You know, I'm familiar with you, whatever, what not, I'm writing and producing and I'm pretty sure you got something going on.
Speaker 3:If you're cooking or doing something with some artists, I'd love to be involved to some degree, whatever, whatever, let me know, you know what I'm saying. He's like, ok, cool, and then we never linked up and once we did the song and all of that stuff. And then I guess, once he checked his inbox, he was like yo, you messaged me like a year ago, wow, I was like, yeah, I remember that. And he was like, hey, it's about divine timing, man, it wasn't on our time, it was God's time, right, and you know. Hey, here we are.
Speaker 2:Man, that's amazing. Yeah, God moves, yeah, yeah. Hey, you said earlier in our conversation you talked about going through the process when you were signing the record deal and going through all that and how it fell through. But even beyond that, you came back, you stayed with it and even today to me you're still with the music. I don't think you can get away from it. Like I said, you're on one side behind the mic, or you're in front of the mic, some way music going to find you, definitely if it's your passion and it's your love. With that being said, through your trial and error, what advice will you give for young, up-and-coming artists who are trying to get their foot in the door and to void the pitfalls of the industry?
Speaker 3:I would say, first and foremost, be authentic. Be authentically yourself. You can't be you. I would say that I mean, it is a copycat game that's out here and it's enough of that. So I would say, first off, do it from the heart, do it out of love, and then the money and everything else will come behind it. Like you just said, man, if you've got a passion and a real love for it, some kind of way to find its way back to you, that's how it gets back to me Even years and years and years later.
Speaker 3:And, like I said, I never really walked away from the game. It was just I was like, hey, I'll write and produce, because people like my writing and production so cool, I'll do that. But even when I tried to do that and just do that, catch her to music I was like yo, we need you to come perform. Like we need you, we'll pay you. You got any original material, can you come back and do a set by yourself, like all of that kind of stuff, right? So it was just me at that point, doing it out of the love, and of course I was making some money residual monies and different things like that but I never stirred away from being my authentic self. So I would say to anybody that's coming up and interested in doing it look for some mentors. Look for some mentors that are local, that you can tap in with and start pulling information from them, pulling resources from them.
Speaker 3:Nothing is free, so, but that doesn't necessarily always mean you've got to pay for it. You know what I mean. Like, figure out a way. If it's a producer you want to work with and you know you ain't got the money to pay for studio time or to pay for his beat man, you better humble yourself. Hey man, I ain't got no bread right now. I feel like I'm dope as an artist or a singer or a songwriter or a producer or whatever the case may be. I want to work with you. Will you allow me to? Just, is it anything I can do? Can I barter and trade with you? Can I come through and clean studio up? Can I do anything To get something from you, outside of it being a monetary exchange, so that I can work with you because I like what you're doing? And then I want to be mentored because I'm young, I'm hungry and I want to move in the music industry and I feel like you'll be the person that'll help me.
Speaker 3:You'd be surprised at how many people will say hey, young cat, come on. You know, just pull up. You know what I'm saying, right, right. When you get here, don't say nothing, sit there in the corner If I ask you to do something, that's when you move, and outside of that you chill, fall back and then just be a student and soak the game up. That's what nine times out of 10, that's what the producer going to say. He ain't going to be like, ah, bro, gone, gone on some. Well, you know what I'm saying, unless you just cold hearted or he got so much money to where it ain't happening like that. Now you can.
Speaker 3:The reason I say look for your local resources, because you'd be surprised at how many of your local resources have already put work in and they already in the game. So you try to overlook them by trying to reach out to these artists. That's already popping and hot and all of those kind of things. That's cool, but it be them dudes that's right there next to you that you don't notice, eating in the game and they die moving like these other dudes. They not loud. You know what I mean. They not loud, they themselves, they to themselves, they chilling, but they working. You know what I'm saying. So it takes you to be a student of the game and be authentic, and if you own it, you can create it by how you want to have it. It's cool to be honest with you, right? Thank you.
Speaker 2:You there? Yeah, I'm there. I think we lost connection with you for a second, but definitely Go ahead. I was saying you know you can.
Speaker 3:You know I was saying you can definitely tap in with the people. That's close. You know what I mean. I'm a fan of. What do I always say? I'm a fan of the path of least resistance. Yeah, so what that means is the path of least resistance don't have a monetary value on it. You give them.
Speaker 3:Saying this is like hey, what can I make happen with as little money as possible, not necessarily with a less effort, but what can I do to make it happen? Right now? And a lot of people are producing and recording and all that stuff from their house and that's fine and good. I got a pre-production studio and my career too, you know. But I know the equipment that I got. I know what to do with it. So that's, you know, that's key right there. You know what I mean. My vocals are going to be crispy clean. So anywhere I send them to you know what I mean they're going to be like okay, cool, I can work with Ken because at least what he sent me, his quality is on point. It ain't spiking, it ain't buzzing, it ain't a whole lot of stuff going on. You know what he's doing.
Speaker 3:So if you're going to do a pre-production or something at your house. Just learn the equipment that you got. You don't need the most expensive. Definitely don't get the most cheap, the cheapest. You know what I mean? Get you something that that that's comparable to what everybody else is doing. And if you can't do that, at least know what you're doing with the equipment you got, so that you can send the audio files and the different things accordingly. So that's just, you know. Learn the business 101 when it comes to that.
Speaker 2:And it's me give you information to my audience and to those young artists, single song writers that's trying to come up in the business. Yeah, really need to hear this. Hey, before we go, what's your social media handles that people can find you?
Speaker 3:Amen, everything at. I am Kenny Slim. That's on Facebook, instagram, twitter, tiktok. Get that. Beesha, it's my girl. If you're trying to book me on any kind of shows or any other podcasts or some performances or anything like that, you can hit me in the inbox. I'm not going to DM me, but I'm ready, willing and able to work. I'm excited for everybody to hear this music that we can ready to drop. It's called sensitive love and yeah man in a particular date.
Speaker 3:We don't have a date set yet. I mean, we're still working out some of the behind the scenes particulars and whatnot. You know, you got to have a business right. We were getting the business right and making sure that the record is tight. So when it does come out we'll be happy with it, and so that you know, and then we'll make sure that the public will be happy with it. It would be good, but everything get. I am Kenny Slim man Easy.
Speaker 2:Awesome, hey, man, thanks again for joining us. Thanks again for joining us. Spits to the beat podcast. I appreciate you coming on and sharing your information, your story, your history and everything like that with my audience. Hey, hold tight as I close out the show. Okay, yeah, thank you for watching spit to the beat podcast. Join us again for another live episode next week.