Kev.O, the Singer.Songwriter.Arranger

Myspace Layouts by Pimp-My-Profile.com

“The greatest benefit in life is that in every experience – every failure and every triumph – there is to be found a lesson,” says Kev.O. Like the typical middle child, born third of four siblings, he learned at an early age the importance of taking personal time to think and imagine. “As a child, I spent a lot of time alone thinking, imagining, and creating. Even today, once I’ve found some down time, I’ll often take time to get into my own head. That’s usually when I start writing.” Through years of experience, Kev.O is continually developing and reinventing his gift to transcribe his thoughts into music.This artist from Atlanta, Georgia, was born on November 17, 1982. Raised in Ellenwood, a relatively small city within the suburban metropolitan-Atlanta area, Kev.O was heavily involved in the performance aspects of school and church. “I was such a weirdo! While other kids were fighting it, my parents never had to force me to [participate in] the productions at school and church. I was the one begging them to take me to rehearsals every day! After a while, my legs got used to walking,” he recalls with laughter. However, it was outside of those walls, as a teenager, that he began to develop his craft professionally with a small production company as a recording artist, lyricist, arranger, composer, and producer.While seeking his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music at Howard University, he has become exposed to many of the artists that influence the uniqueness of his sound. “I was into a lot of great singers before, but it seems like a whole new can of singers popped open for me once I got into college. Though I don’t think I sound like any single one of them, you can definitely hear their stylistic influence on my sound.” Some might jokingly call it "jazzspel", a combination of the harmonic intricacies of jazz and the soulful expressions of gospel. “A progressive combination of many great musicians that create one unique sound" is how he describes it. These artists include both legendary musicians like Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, the Clark Sisters, and Patti LaBelle as well as new-schoolers like Brandy, J. Moss, Kim Burrell, Nikki Ross, Van Hunt, Bilal, P.J. Morton, and India.Arie, among others.As a Washington, DC resident and an undergraduate Howard University student, Kev.O has been blessed with many great opportunities to participate in many great projects and ensembles. “I could never have imagined so many great opportunities! Well…yes, I could – just not this soon,” Kev.O admits. “I’ve known for a while that music is my calling, but I’m finding that God’s timing is a little different – better – than mine. So, I try to work as hard as I can to prepare as well as I can.” These opportunities include the Howard Gospel Choir, which has birthed and nurtured so many of today’s greats; Daniel Austin & Divine Adoration, a former gospel group based in Washington, DC which has appeared on Bobby Jones’ Gospel Show on the WORD Network; Motown Records R&B recording artist and Grammy Award winner Mya, who is known most recently for her appearance in the movie Chicago and her feature on the remake of LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade”; and gospel music giant Kim Burrell. He also held a position as the musical accompanist for the bilingual (Spanish-English) Sunday morning worship service of the National City Christian Church at Thomas Circle in Washington, DC and worked as an intern for the XMKiDS Channel on XM Satellite Radio.Currently an active singer, songwriter, and arranger working under the business name Kev.O Music, Kev.O is an associate member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (GRAMMY). He is also a member of Howard University’s premier jazz vocal ensemble AFRO Blue (http://www.howard.edu/campustour/Life/Arts/Music/AfroBlue-2 .htm), which won two awards from DownBeat Magazine in 2003 and 2004, including one for “Best Vocal Group”, and has performed alongside artists like Ben Verene, Geri Allen, Nneena Freelon, and Ron Carter; is an instructor for beginner and intermediate students of piano and voice at the DC Music Center; and performs with Reverb (www.reverbmusic.com), the Washington Area Music Association’s “Best Gospel/Inspirational Group/Quartet” for 2006 and its nominee in the same category for 2007. This group has performed on several occasions for the Washington Nationals (MLB), Washington Mystics (WNBA), and Washington Wizards (NBA) games. He is a tenor section leader for the Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel Choir and also works regularly as a background singer for J Records R&B recording artist Mario.