We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kehvn Clarence a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kehvn, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

We inspire people of Caribbean descent to acheive thier goals and manifest their dreams into reality. We inspire them to become the best version of themselves, helping to destroy the stereotype that the only thing our region has to offer are beautiful beaches and coconut trees. We encourage their current and future success stories to give back to the region, to be a beacon of hope for those still living in the islands and also for those living abroad in the diaspora.

Increasing successful creatives, entreprenuers and enterprises is a sure way to impact economics positively in the Caribbean and the diaspora.

I was raised on the island of Antigua and know first hand the limited resources and optimism that comes from island life, specifically being a local in the Caribbean. I remember how everything outside of the island was held in such high regard while what was produced on the island was constantly over looked. I see how hurricanes destroy and disrupt daily life to the point where we beg for handouts from bigger countries. I noticed how Tourism (especially for Antigua) is the #1 income generating aspect of the region.

I fantasized about being so rich that I could have a fund for any country in need, I dreamt about being able to sign aspiring artists to my record label and how it would change their life as if I was Sony or Warner Music group. These are things I’ve had on my mind since a pre-teen and now it’s my calling, my way of life and purpose on this earth.

I have a series on social media that I just rebranded as “iLAND BARZ” where I write and perform lyrics about Caribbean history and possible futures. Doing these videos I’ve had to do extensive research on the region and it only strengthened my resolve. So many great Caribbean people who have influenced the world makes me want to be apart of that legacy. From Bob Marley, Marcus Garvey to Sidney Poitier and so much more.

Its crazy but people need to realize that we want to be successful too, we wanna get wealthy too, so miss me with the straw hats selling trinkets on the beach, we in it for big business now. It’s a new day…. a New Caribbean.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have a unique perspective on music, life and business due to the fact that I was born in New York but was raised on a tiny island. Every summer I would visit New York or Miami which is how I began to be exposed to Hip Hop/Rap and Pop/R&B. I quickly realized at the early age of 11 that songwriting had already consumed my life.

I make music for creatives and entrepreneurs in the Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora.

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My music represents life in today’s modern world, through a lens of an “ambitious pursuit of success” but more specifically inspiration for Caribbean people all over the world who are aspiring professionals, creatives, entrepreneurs and business owners. You can hear the Caribbean influence of Reggae/Dancehall and Calypso/Soca in my music production and I often describe unique situations in my lyrics that apply to Caribbean people. The remarkable thing is that my music still holds a universal appeal which is commercially viable.

Writing songs grew into studio engineering which now has evolved into music production and business ownership. I founded The New Caribbean in 2014 which is a multi-media company & brand actively working to dominate Music, Film, Fashion, Technology and Literature. I was fortunate in having a string of day jobs that allowed me to work on my craft and learn new ones, from hosting events and game shows to performing my original music, even creating jingles and voice overs for multiple companies that still are in rotation today (TV & Radio).

In 2017 I relaunched TNC with a new logo and started to offer screenprinting services along with running my clothing brand. I’m proud of myself for persevering through everything that threatened to force me to give up on my mission. I truly see The New Caribbean being the largest and most impactful Caribbean brand on the globe, I even see it having more power and pull than government officials and politicians in the Caribbean lol.

One thing about me is I dream big, I dream a lot, I’m happily delusional when it comes to what I believe I can and will accomplish. One thing that has been a blessing and a curse to me is being able to learn different skills and become effective. It’s great to be able to know you can figure out anything you need to but it comes back to bite you when you start to spread yourself too thin. I truly believe I would be further on my journey had I not stopped and started so many different ventures and cultivated so many different skills, always rationalizing that I can apply them all to my brand. So I’m in a place now where I’m focused on what matter to me most and that’s my music career. It’s where it all started for me and it’s where my visceral feelings about my mission stems from.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I remember being on my island feeling like I had all this talent but no way to monetize it. I was writing lyrics all day everyday for years knowing that my pen was getting crazy but what does that matter if you can’t see how the money is going to come from it. So the 17 year old me came up with an idea after learning about jingle writers who make $600,000 yearly off of one big jingle. I was like, “Me cyan do dat!!” So first I had to survey the landscape because I knew that the little shops won’t be looking for jingle, they don’t even advertise on radio. I compiled a list of 40 potential companies on the island that had the revenue and were already on the radio.

I printed up a proposal 10 pages long, and submitted it with a CD of the potential jingles. I’d create the jingles by researching their flyers, radio ads and anything that would give me info and a backstory for the company. I got dressed up and started making my runs, out of 40 places I went, only 2 bought, one of which was “TownHouse MegaStore” which is equivalent to Walmart for my island. I never been so excited in my life lol and it was at that moment that I realized my talent is worth something. I never looked back and have been continually nurturing my craft since.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I first moved to Miami to live, I was coming off of 5 years where I wasn’t able to leave Antigua. I was hungry damn near desperate to get things rolling for me towards this vision I’ve had since a child. I had nothing. So 1 week into being in Miami I took a door to door commission only job. Everyone said it’s a scam, not to do it and that I won’t make a single dime. I chose not to listen and to go with my gut. The 1st week I made $3000, 2nd week $1500, 3rd week $600 then after that it was $0 every week for about a month 🤦🏾‍♂️ but with that early streak I was able to buy my studio equipment, video equipment and laptop. I was in total shock because I did this not knowing Spanish but selling to predominantly Spanish people. All I kept telling myself is they felt the energy🙏🏾

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheNewCaribbean.net
• Instagram: @kehvnclarence
• Facebook: The New Caribbean Shop
• Youtube: @kehvnclarence