Puerto Rican born singer, songwriter, music producer, Kenny sat down with me to chat about his struggles as an independent artist. The music production and sound engineering student has a lot on his plate!
The most I had to balance in school was my classes and friends and family, on top of all of that, Kenny has his music career to focus on.
On his YouTube channel, Kenny has been very open thus far with his viewers and local fans, by creating online documentation of his struggles.
He's actively working on creating a video diary to chat about his music process.
Making my EP: Video Diary 1www.youtube.com
This video is an insight into the life of an independent musician. He shows his MIDI keyboard on his desk and his make-shift recording studio in his bathroom.
Listening to songs like his song "Eternity," on Spotify as, "Eternity" by Kairo -- I would have never guessed that he was able to create songs like that with such a small set up. The harmonies and beats are all him.
This was a big eye opener for me and changed the way that I view music and the world. Sometimes I feel like I become too reliant on other people when at the end of the day all I need is myself.
Making my EP: ANXIETYwww.youtube.com
Anxiety and losing yourself is something we can all testify to.
I lost myself this year.www.youtube.com
What if you're not enough by yourself? In Kenny's second and third video he talks about the anxiety associated with the pressures of creating an entire EP in your bedroom.
Famous artists like, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez have large teams of writers, producers, background vocalists, and publicists.
But thousands of children, teenagers, and adults alike, experience this same story.
Songwriting, producing, publicizing, all solo.
I am personally not musically inclined in the slightest. I'm a bit tone deaf and have very little rhythm, so talent like this is not a small feat. I feel connected to Kenny's story. We all go through the process of finding ourselves. Many of us experience anxiety when we feel like we aren't growing fast enough or when we feel like we aren't where we should be in our careers and lives.
I know I'm personally guilty of this quite often. I always feel like there's a big rush to get to an end goal as fast as possible, when all reality, things will work out how they need to work out with the work you put in.
It is clear to see that Kenny puts in a lot of work into his music and music is much more than a hobby to him. With a drive and will to succeed, (and an amazing voice too!) Kenny will go very far.
One thing we can all learn from independent artists is that we are allowed to be afraid of change, but we shouldn't let that stop us from growing.
📻If you want to keep up with Kenny's musical journey make sure you follow his Soundcloud (click on the link) and his Instagram: @hey.its.kenny! 🎶