We were lucky to catch up with Keith Allen Davis, Jr. recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Keith Allen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
After years of showing interest in acting and directing, I began receiving acting training in high school. I earned my B.A. in Theatre Performance at Alabama State University, worked an acting apprenticeship contract at New Stage Theatre, and am now pursuing my MFA in Acting at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
I learned how to write by studying films. I wrote my first short film when I was 20 years old.
I got into performing music through my church growing up. I wrote gospel rap for Youth Sundays as a teenager. Since then, I’ve written and produced I multiple EPs and have performed for multiple venues since the age of 16 years old.
For a long time, I struggled with overthinking. I still do at times. Directors would often give me the same note: “Get out of your head.” I’d abandon songs because they didn’t match the version I imagined. But learning to let go of that perfectionism has become essential to my growth. Overthinking is natural, but when unchecked, it leads to second-guessing, insecurity, and creative paralysis. Letting go has helped me unlock who I really am as an artist.
Keith Allen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Keith Allen Davis, Jr. My musician moniker is Baby Boy Keith. I’m an artist from Mississippi—rapper, actor, writer, and director. I got into storytelling early. My dad had a huge movie collection and a huge wrestling dvd collection. We’d sit and watch for hours. I became enthralled by the stories I’d see in wrestling and in movies. I’d be outside writing in the dirt with a stick, or literally drawing stories in the air. It started as just imagination, but it turned into poems, rap verses, plays, and eventually full productions.
I started writing raps in my journal, joined drama club, did poetry contests, wrote songs for my church—you name it. Over the years, I’ve dropped a few EPs, directed stage shows and short films, and co-wrote and co-directed the Montgomery performance of Little Amal—a global project about a 12-foot puppet symbolizing a young Syrian refugee’s journey. I got my B.A. in Theatre Performance, and I’m currently getting my MFA in Acting at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
I create from a personal place. One of my favorite lines I’ve written is: “I had to print my blues so I could give these kids the blueprint.” That sums it up for me—I make work that reflects real emotion and experience, especially from a Southern, Black perspective. I want to connect with people.
What makes my work different is I allow how I fell in love with storytelling to be the anchor of how I produce my content. I always incorporate wrestling and cinematic themes in my art—no matter what the product is. I make my music videos feel like short films and always make storytelling music with pro-wrestling themes sprinkled throughout.
I’m proud of my growth. I’ve come a long way, and I’m still pushing. I want people to know that anything I put out—music, film, theater—it’s all coming from a real, honest, and intentional place.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I’m a firm believer that change starts with proximity. Us, as a society, should advocate for artists by supporting creatives that are right beside them or in the neighborhood. That guy selling that book, that girl you know selling her song on all platforms, that person selling their paintings—it’s all there. If we established that dynamic, so many gifted and deserving artists would thrive.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
In all my art, I am wrestling memory into art that heals, confronts, and connects. I want to show people how we’re all “wrestlers” in life. We wrestle everyday tasks, faith, ourselves, and each other. I just want to relate and show people they aren’t alone.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithallendavisjr?igsh=MTh0YTVmamU4N3Y5bA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C3PDZqrVm/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Twitter: https://x.com/thebabyboykeith?s=21&t=dDONNaS4tjqhdLPGyq23zQ
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@babyboykeith?si=4XzGpdFOph4tufIg
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/2VXKS7URXfxGraSR69
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/thebabyboykeith?igsh=MTdwa3R4dXlwcDQ1OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Marcus Keeton, Destin Benford, New Stage Theatre, Alabama State University