A Conversation with Kameron Corvet, by Lauren-Aileen Morris

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    With his soulful and edgy voice, Kameron Corvet is sure to make an indelible mark on the soul music scene. His music is atypical and difficult to restrict to one genre, yet there is something familiar and comforting about his style that any soul music connoisseur can appreciate. A Cincinnati native and Atlanta resident, Kameron Corvet has been through his share of name changes and transformations. One constant that has remained however, is the sincerity of his music. It can be described in one word...Organic.

    LM: So what's been going on with Mr. Kameron Corvet lately?

    KAM: Well, you know it's almost summertime now, so I've been real busy lately...everybody's trying to get a show together, or performance or something...so it's a good time for musicians to be active because you get a lot of gigs.

    LM: So you been staying busy?

    KAM: As busy as possible, I mean it's picked up a lot lately since the New Year! Honestly, I can't recall a time before now when I've been as busy consistently.

    LM: Well, that's a good thing right?

    KAM: Yeah, I love it...I feel like I'm getting ready for the majors you know what I'm saying.

    LM: So what do you think made everything start to jump off for you? Was it the haircut...the name change... what was it?

    KAM: I mean, I switched deodorant and like all of a sudden I'm out there yo! No, for real though you know what...I think when artists come into the understanding of investing in yourself, a lot of things change. These days you have to think about more than just investing in the music alone because everybody can make music now...it's a lot more accessible and it's a lot more easily made, so you have to figure out a way for your music to be demanded, if you will. It's a supply and demand thing, and you have to spend money on that. People don't think you do. I mean, word of mouth is cool, but you have to spend money. Marketing is what makes people willing to buy something.

    LM: I've heard people describe your music in many different ways, but for people who are new to your stuff, how would you describe your musical style?

    KAM: I would say that it's genuine. My music all comes from one place, and that's me. I think a lot of times, the industry has caused us to be unfamiliar with where the music actually comes from. You see people delivering messages, but you don't know if they wrote it. More often than not, we're conditioned to believe that they didn't even write the music, and they're just a singer. So, it's always been important for me to represent the artistry from a musician's standpoint, from a songwriter's standpoint, from a vocalist's standpoint and from a performer's standpoint. So, my music is genuinely me...I write my own stuff. I'm not saying this so you can think I'm Prince or anything, but if you like the songwriting, then you like me...if you like the music, then you like me.

    LM: When you're not writing, what kind of stuff are you getting into?

    KAM: I'm a Scrabble head! Don't hit me up on Facebook and challenge me...I'll take you up! I keep it real; I don't care if it's 2 hours later!

    LM: So you like Facebook better than Myspace?

    KAM: I'm really feeling Facebook right now. I feel like Facebook is more viral, especially from an artistic standpoint, you can communicate with people a lot easier. You don't have to send out a bulletin to everyone like you do on Myspace.

    LM: What artist dead or alive, would you be most interested in seeing perform live.

    KAM: This is going to sound so crazy to you, but Elvis Presley. I do a cover of one of his first songs, the one that actually broke him. It's called "That's Alright." The thing is, I'm not hating on Elvis at all, but the song was written by a person of color named Arthur Crudduck. It was a blues song originally. So, the song has its roots in the struggle of African-Americans in the U.S. So, I feel I have a right to play it.

    LM: That's sick...where can we find that joint:

    KAM: I've been doing these Kameron Corvet covers on the fly. I just set up the Mac laptop in the crib and put these joints out virally, so I think that's the next one I'm going to do.

    LM: So I heard that you don't like to listen to a lot of radio and current music because it taints your own creative process. Tell me about that.

    KAM: I stopped listening to the radio once I really decided that I was going to be creating music from scratch. I was heavily influenced by the music from the late 90's that ended in 2000. I still caught blurbs here and there, but 2000 was the last point that I was actually checking for new stuff. I can be honest and say from that time period I was really into all the Nu-Soul like D'angelo, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill's first album. It all just blew my head wide open, and I was on it. Add a little Roots in there, BlackStar, all that. Then I came to Atlanta and started working at a record store. That's when I started getting into Radiohead, Coldplay, and a lot of the blues artists, which was a big influence on me. Then right in the fall 2000, Bilal came out, Mama's Gun came out then Musiq and Jill Scott's 1st albums dropped, and then that was pretty much it for me.

    LM: Well, all that is enough to keep you going for a minute I suppose.

    KAM: I know right, but people think I'm a hater! I know I can be a hater sometimes, but all I'm doing is holding people to the standard that I listen to. I haven't listened to the radio enough to be dumbed down by the consistency of something that's not necessarily our best. If D'angelo would've been putting stuff out all this time...you would not be able to say that other artists were on his level. I think we forget, and we have a tendency to go for what's in right now. But if you pop the Voodoo album in right now, it still rocks...and it rocks HARD. So, I don't think there's anything current that's going to influence me to be as creative as the stuff that got me started in the 1st place.

    LM: So you're not influenced by current music...tell me about your writing process and what influences you there?

    KAM: You know what, going out and experiencing everyday life is what spawns my writing the most. My influence, before the music, is just going out there and being with people. Different people put a different spin on things. I mean, all my messages have something to do with love, and you can talk about love forever. It's not just about somebody left me or I saw you for the 1st time, or we're about to make love. The awkwardness of life is a lot of the things we try and figure out on a daily basis. I'm more or less just keeping a musical journal of trying to figure it out, and maybe in the process other people can figure it out with me or for me.

    LM: OK, a musical journal huh? I like that. So what's next in the journal for Kameron Corvet?

    KAM: I've had this record that I would consider my 2nd labor of love, and I've been cautious enough to not rush it and put it out there too quickly. I feel the right situation is upon me and I just want to make sure that it gets put in its place properly. I'm from the independent school, so I never stop in terms of what it is that I'm doing. In the immediate future, you'll probably see a video or two from me within the next month. I'm really into the media aspect so the video along with the new music is what I think will really help brand me. I think the thing that makes people like my music is I don't try to hide from being a human being. It's not about anything glamorous with me. It's just about trying to work through it...everyday.

    Lauren-Aileen Morris is a journalist, lawyer and music activist residing in Charlotte, NC. She can be reached at LAURENMORRIS@theblossomgroup.com
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