I met Keeyen in the halls of the Morehouse College music
department. A gifted singer and songwriter, Keeyen has hit the ground running
in Atlanta since graduating from Morehouse, stretching his music beyond the
black Mecca to listeners across the country.
Hometown: Charlotte,
NC
Schoolin' Life: Morehouse College
Crayon Box Color: Macaroni & Cheese
Crayon Box Color: Macaroni & Cheese
Website: www.keeyenmartin.com
Facebook: Keeyen
Martin
Twitter: @KeeyenMartin
Instagram: Keeyen
Martin
Keeyen: I’m originally from Charlotte, NC. I was introduced to music
at about 2 or 3 and took to singing pretty quickly. My love for music was
further cultivated all through my childhood through choir and soloing and
playing piano. My father’s side of the family is VERY musically inclined. I
guess you can say my first professional experience was my junior year in high
school. I was exposed to Donald Lawrence of the Tri City Singers and a few
other gospel artists and singers. Then, I decided to move to Atlanta,
specifically for music but also for Morehouse. There’s been a lot of great
opportunities for me singing professionally and writing for well known artists.
Now, as a graduate of Morehouse it has warranted many opportunities for me. I
vocal coach professionally and perform music full time, which is really really
amazing.
Pat: You’ve had the
opportunity to work with the Atlanta Music Project.
Keeyen: The Atlanta Music Project is a social change program that tries to empower young scholars to
use music as a change agent. The program seeks to influence them academically,
socially and musically. I was introduced to AMP by the co-founder Aisha Bowden
during my Music Seminar at Morehouse. I was interested and applied to every
open position. They had a position for a woodwind conductor and I even applied
for that, and I don’t play woodwinds. At my interview, Aisha said, “You applied to everything” and I was like,
“Yeah, I knew that someone had to meet
me.” I was hired as a side assistant, which was great. Basically, we did
everything from teaching to mentoring. It was such a great experience. AMP is
based out of Ivy Preparatory Academy, which caters to a lot of families in the
Decatur area, low-income families who would probably not get this type of
exposure to music. One of the best things for me was coming to the school,
working with the kids and seeing their growth. By the end of the year, these kids
could sight read! They could read rhythms and knew what repertoire is…it was
just really fun. I’ve always been attracted to various programs that reach out
to youth, especially that are in the performing arts that really empower young
people beyond just cultivating their talents.
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Pat: So how has your
transition been from your artistry as a student to an independent artist in
Atlanta?
Keeyen: It’s been both a challenge and a learning experience. I
think that a lot of times when we look at challenges, we are sort of ‘over it’
and are ready for the success to happen. For me, at Morehouse I always had a
huge function to build my brand beyond
the AUC (Atlanta University Center). There were so many people [professionals] doing what we [student musicians] were doing and I knew it was vital to make a
connection to them. By my sophomore year that’s when I began to make the shift
and started to become acquainted with the Atlanta music scene, which made my
transition as a young professional artist a lot easier. What was really cool
was to be welcomed and received by these Atlanta artists now, because I
connected with them when I was a student.
The one challenge I’ve had has been with stopping myself
from getting overwhelmed with the reality of the city where almost everyone is
an artist. I had to rest on the fact that I had my own gifts and talents and as
long as I focused on them, they would speak for themselves. I’ve allowed myself
to not be intimidated and have been holding fast to who I am and what I do;
it’s allowed me to be pretty successful. No one can share your gift the way you
can.
Pat: So you recently came
out with your newest single, #DiveN2Luv.
Can you talk to a little bit about your song writing process?
Keeyen: I was always that kid that enjoyed telling stories based off
of whatever writing prompts we had in school. I started writing songs when I
was about eleven or twelve and I wanted a stranger to literally see what I was
writing or singing about. With #DiveN2Luv, I wanted it to capture two things
that were important to me: I wanted to become a commercially successful artist.
That being said, I knew that the song should be something catchy, that is
simple and radio friendly, but because I’m quite lyrical I also sought to paint
a picture of this love affair. The other half was rooted in my love for music
from the 60’s. The swing, the snap, how they dress…I wanted all of that in
that. What I love about songs is that a lot of times we don’t always remember
all the lyrics, but it’s that hook….that’s the part they remember. So I try to
bridge or marriage the depth of who I am with my passion to create music that
reaches people and they can sing along with me.
Pat: What are big things
on the horizon?
Keeyen: Certainly, really making my stamp as a recording artist,
which I guess is interesting because I technically am. But when I think of a
recording artist, I think of someone who is constantly recording and has a body
of music. Some people will say, “Oh I’m a recording artist,” but I’m like,
“Sweet heart you don’t have anything beyond your city…wait a minute someone’s
not telling the truth.” Before #DiveN2Luv,
I released a mixtape while I was at Morehouse and it was received really really
well. From having such great response people are asking if I am putting out an
album or an EP and I’m like no and no. I’ve learned to enjoy the journey and
not release my product until I feel that it’s time. You’re the person that is
refining it and cultivating it. I want to take the time to build my original
catalog. I have songs for days…but there’s a lot that I still need to record
and clean up. I want whatever I release to be the most polished product of
Keeyen Martin that I can. I just want to release music to let people know that
I have original music that’s great beyond just a few singles.
I’m prepping to get aboard some music festivals as well as a
tour opportunity that I have with The
Alignment, which is an independent artist show case that I put together
with your frat brother JaCoby (Brik
Liam), and two other female artists JayH
and Tiffany Stevenson. We just
wanted to create our own, because the struggle is real but the beautiful thing
about the indie market was to create something for yourself. So we had our
first show last summer at Apache Café and another show earlier this year in January
with the help of your frat brother Christopher Patterson. We’re planning on another show sometime this summer and that
will be the start of the tour. Artistic growth and development for the rest of
2014.
#artsupportsart
There's always enough black to go around,
Pat
