Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christopher Kenji. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Christopher, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
From a young age, I had this dream of being a musician ––specifically, being a guitar player in a rock band. That’s it. That was the dream. Instead of going outside and trying to make friends with the other kids, growing up, I’d just play guitar for 6 hours a day in my room by myself. I’d write my own songs, learn how to play all my favorite guitar solos note for note, etc. ––it kind of just felt like guitar was my best friend and we’d just hang out all day having fun. I took lessons for a bit but then I’d say I was pretty much self-taught from then on out.
Guitar was really the only thing that I learned purely just for my own pleasure. On the contrary, I learned both singing and music production kind of out of necessity –although, I eventually fell in love with both of them after diving into each of their own separate, fascinating worlds. First and foremost, I was always terrified of the idea of singing. I was a very shy kid growing up and never in a million years did I think I’d ever be belting it out on the mic in front of an audience ––but at a certain point with guitar, I just got tired of writing entire songs with zero vocals. I’d spend so many hours crafting these intricate guitar parts with different melodic hooks and chord changes and everything all to still lack arguably the most important part of the song: the vocals.
I’d always have to get other people to write lyrics and sing over my songs and sometimes it would work out great but then other times, it just felt like someone took a giant dump on my song. Initially, my whole goal with singing was to just be passable. I just wanted to have full control over how my songs sounded. So every day, I’d go to the place where I could sing as badly as possible without anyone ever hearing me: my car. I’d record myself singing in there and listen back while cringing until I had no more cringe left to cringe. I did this in private for an entire year before I ever sang in front of anyone.
When I finally did sing in front of people, I was faced with what you could call some ‘mixed reviews’. People would say, “you’re so good at guitar, man. Maybe you should just stick to that” or I’d ask them what they thought of the song and they’d be like, “well, the guitar was good!” While quite discouraging, that all made me just say, “f**k it. I don’t want to be just a passable singer, I want be an AWESOME singer”. So, I went to every open mic night I could find in town and sang at all of them and busked on the street and really put in my reps singing in front of hundreds of small audiences until people started to take a liking to my singing ––even more so than my guitar playing.
Now that I could sing well and play guitar well and write my own songs well, I was like, “all I have to do now is get someone to record me doing all that and they’ll make it sound perfect and we’ll all live happily ever after and ride into the sunset, right?” WRONG! Ahh man, I wish it were that easy. It was truly saddening though because every time, I’d have such high hopes. They’d always be like, “I have this $5,000 microphone and we’ll run it through this vintage tape machine and you’re not even gonna believe your ears!” ––and then I’d listen to it back when it was all done and be so disappointed thinking, “I could’ve made this sound better with just my laptop and basic stock plug-ins”. So again, similar to having to become my own vocalist, I was like, “alright, I guess I have to become my own producer and engineer too”.
It took a long time to get confidence to call myself a producer and singer because I had such imposter syndrome about both of them. With production I was like, there’s all these people with multi-million dollar recording studios and decades of experience ––and I even worked with some Grammy-nominated people who are incredible so I was like, “who am I to have the audacity to think that I can make my music sound better than they can?” And with singing, for the longest time I considered myself merely just a ‘guitar player who kind of sings’. I’d look at other people and be like, “they’re an actual vocalist ––a legit vocalist. They have perfect vocal technique and mic technique and have been doing this their whole life and blah, blah, blah…”
I think the most difficult thing for me to do was to learn how to believe in myself. There will always be a million reasons to convince yourself out of doing something but no one ever became extraordinary by giving up because the odds were stacked against them. Fear was such a huge obstacle for me. I was always so afraid of all the potential negative outcomes instead of shooting for the stars. Most of the time in life, we regret the things that we didn’t do much more than the things that we did do. I think if I had come to that conclusion sooner, I would’ve taken more risks ––I would’ve made all the mistakes sooner and learned from them all sooner and have grown much faster but then again, I wouldn’t wish for anything different because whatever I did or didn’t do, I’m where I am now because of it and I’m grateful.
Christopher, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a San Francisco/Bay Area-based independent, singer-songwriter, pop/rock artist and producer on a mission to bring heartfelt songwriting, honest lyrics and the spirit of good ol’ rock ‘n roll back into the mainstream… or in simpler terms, I make music to help people feel less alone but also to help them to rock their socks off.
I have flaws; I struggle with things, but I still have my fun, ya know? From a lot of the popular artists nowadays, I’ve noticed that it’s a lot of talk about, “I’m the best, I’m the baddest” or, “you wish you could have this money, this status, these women”, etc. ––and I’m not here to knock any of that. Music is a free form of expression and I think that we should all write about whatever it is that we want to but I guess I’m just the voice for all the wallflowers who feel like they don’t fit into that party.
I’ve pretty much made it my goal to do the exact opposite with my own music (e.g., be as honest and vulnerable as possible to give people something that they can hopefully relate to). Being the little brooding, emo kid I was, sometimes I remember feeling like no one in the world understood me but then I’d hear that one song ––some song written by someone I’d never met before in my entire life but their words and music made me feel understood. It helped me to know that there was someone else out there who felt the exact same way that I did and that I was not alone. That’s really the feeling that made me fall in love with music in the first place.
That being said though, for me, it’s not necessarily always all about having some super deep, heavy-hearted message ––I just try to be me I guess and make good music. If someone out there puts on a song of mine and it gives them something to groove to while doing the dishes, or if it hypes them up to a hit bench press PR in the gym, or if they’re simply lying on the couch with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s after a long, stressful day and need something to unwind to ––that is plenty enough for me.
I guess my music you could say is an eclectic storm raining down on the metaphorical umbrella of pop-rock on a bluesy day. I’ve got some rock songs, got some chill/acoustic songs, got some folky/bluesy songs, got some electro-poppy kind of stuff —I feel like the song is the vessel and I’m the captain and I just lead the song wherever I feel like it wants to go. It’s all about the emotion for me —my voice is a bit raspy, my lyrics are a bit raw, etc., but that’s what I feel like makes it real and relatable.
I feel very blessed to say that since my artist debut in July 2020, I’ve amassed almost a million streams, have had my music featured on TV, by popular YouTube channels and viral TikTok stars as well as had my music videos screened in big film festivals all over the world including the Prague International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, the Buenos Aires International Film Festival in Argentina, the Munich Music Video Awards in Germany (to mention a few) ––and have garnered 6 awards so far (including “Best Music Video” for my ‘Summer Fog’ music video). Additionally, I’ve performed as a headlining act for many shows, music festivals, fashion weeks, burlesque revues, etc., ––venues including House of Blues, The Viper Room, The Berklee Performance Center, The Catalyst, Saint Joseph’s Art Society, The Great Northern, etc.
I’ve also been published in Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, Elle, L’Officiel, Vanity Teen, Earmilk, etc., as well as recently appeared on the Food Network show, Chef Dynasty: House of Fang portraying myself. I’m not gonna make this too snoozy a list of accolades but for whomever it may be of importance to ––I’m also a former Top 10 West Coast Songwriting Finalist of the international NewSong Music Competition as well as a Berklee College of Music graduate.
While all of that is cool and flashy and I’m incredibly grateful for all of it, some of the most meaningful rewards have come from amazing, everyday people. There’s a nurse who reached out to me and told me that she plays my music for her patients every day in the hospital to help them cope through their pain and that she even has “Christopher Kenji” as well as my song “Never Enough” tattooed to her arm to symbolize how much my music helped her through her own difficult times. Another fan wrote to me that their birds like my music so much that they won’t fly back into their cage unless they’ve had their daily dose of Christopher Kenji. Notably as well, a middle school student from Turkey with my song lyrics as their Instagram bio and my face as their profile photo reached out to me telling me that they named their cat “Kenji” and that it is their personal mission to get me as many new fans in Turkey as they possibly can. I don’t know ––wholesome things like that for me are just incomparable and truly make me feel the most fulfilled, humbled and proud.
I’d say at this point that most of my followers/fans have found me through my music but there’s also a decent demographic of people who found me through my modeling career. I don’t usually bring up my modeling in music contexts much anymore nowadays due to people sometimes thinking, “oh, so he’s just a model who’s wants a music career now” ––TO CLARIFY: I had my music career WAY before I ever got thrown into the modeling industry but it is of note that modeling/acting has also now become a big part of my life as well.
After being scouted in LA, I gained some notoriety from being awarded “Best Model of 2018” at my modeling debut in San Francisco walking my very first fashion week ever. Since then, I’ve went on to walk many other fashion weeks such as LA Fashion Week, LAFW (Art Hearts) and Chicago Fashion Week where I also sang/performed in front of CBS, Fox News and other major TV networks. Additionally, I’ve gotten to work with award-winning fashion designers such as Ivan Frolov, Demobaza, etc., shoot in many fashion/commercial campaigns as well as be published on the front covers of multiple magazines and even a male model calendar.
While music is and will always be my main passion and career, I can’t deny the success that modeling and acting has brought to me and my music career. To anyone looking for some career advice in the entertainment industry, I’d say don’t be afraid to diversify yourself. With some passion, hard work and a little bit of luck you can reach your goals but most of the time, you won’t be taking the path you think you will to actually get there. I never thought I’d do even a quarter of the stuff I’ve done —my whole dream was to just be a guitar player in a rock band. Now, because I was open to everything though, I’m so much more than only a guitarist —and coincidentally, that’s what sets me apart from other guitarists —or other vocalists, or producers, or models, or actors or other artists in general. You never know what you’re capable of until you try and sometimes when you try, you might just surprise yourself.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
In a broad sense, like many of us, I feel the innate urge to contribute to this world ––to leave this place a little bit better than when I got here. My main mission is to hopefully add value to people’s lives and even when I die one day, I want to know that my music will still be here to continue doing so for me even when I’m not around anymore to do it myself.
Some people were put on this earth to educate people in schools or to save people from burning buildings or to fly people to their desired destinations around the world ––for me, I feel like I was put on this earth to be the soundtrack of people’s everyday lives. Whether someone is hitting the city on a Friday night and wants to get in the zone, or if they’re bored on a long car ride and want something to help them pass the time, or maybe they’re lying alone in their empty apartment after a breakup feeling lonely and wanting someone to understand how they feel, I believe that there’s always a song that can help.
I basically just tell the story of my life through my music and give little pieces of me, my life experiences, my thoughts, etc. out to the world for other people to hopefully connect with. Even if it’s just the smallest thing like someone turning on my song and it putting a smile on their face, my purpose is fulfilled. Like I said, in whatever big or small way it may be, I just wanna make people’s lives just a little bit better than they would be if I weren’t here at all. I guess that, in the most simplified way, is the main mission behind my creative journey.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
It’s hard to say what the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is because, for me, there are so many. I’d say, overall, it probably has to be seeing the effect that my music has had on other people. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that when you release a song, that song now has an entire life of its own and that it can become something so special to so many people in their own lives. I guess, for so many years, I was just so used to nobody listening to or really caring about my music that when it finally actually started to take off a bit, I didn’t even really realize what impact I, or my music could have. I remember when people first started reaching out to me saying that they listened to my songs every day and that my music helped them through some difficult times in their lives, or at my shows when people in the audience first started singing my song lyrics with me while I was performing (lyrics that I wrote alone in my room that I never thought anyone would ever hear), or even when people nowadays tell me that my music or the way I sing inspires them on their own journeys ––it all just feels so unreal to me and I’m just so grateful.
I think that I’d have to say that that’s the most rewarding aspect solely because of the fact that that’s something so much bigger than just me. Nonetheless though, I think another very important aspect to note is the reward of seeing your goals finally come to fruition after you worked so hard for them. I really was what felt like nothing for so, so, so long. As an artist, it almost feels like nobody cares about you until other people care about you and honestly, that saddens me so much to think about. I don’t think I was any less of an artist when nobody listened to my music but people definitely treated me so much differently. Before I started releasing music under “Christopher Kenji”, I poured my blood, sweat and tears as wells as thousands of dollars into an album that took over three years to make just for basically nobody to listen to it. After all those years of hard work, all I got was like 5 Instagram comments on it. I kept posting about it trying to get people’s attention but barely anyone cared or noticed. It was definitely a big blow for me but was also a HUGE learning experience.
I realized that I couldn’t just have insanely wild expectations for things to happen with no game-plan of how to get there. The good news though is that there is a way to get there if you’re driven enough. For any of you who might be struggling on similar journeys, I just want to say don’t give up. Even if it seems like all your passion and hard work is going unnoticed by everyone in the entire world, it doesn’t mean that you’re not worthy of appreciation or success, or that what you’ve created isn’t amazing or special, or that all that time and energy you put into yourself and your work was all for nothing ––it just means that maybe it’s not your time yet. Everyone’s journey is different. No two journeys are the same or truly comparable but they all share one thing in common: struggle.
People don’t see all the pain and failures behind the scenes; all they see is the finished product. We have to remind ourselves of this too when looking at the success of other artists as well ––even the biggest artists in the entire world. It took Sia 11 years and 6 studio albums to hit her big break. Also, Leonard Cohen who wrote “Hallelujah” (you know, like the most covered song probably ever) ––after already failing to succeed as a science fiction writer, he released his debut album at 33 and it still took him another 17 years after that to hit his big break…with “Hallelujah”. Even Howard Schultz got rejected by 217 investors that he personally visited before Starbucks was finally given a chance. Overnight success is not built overnight.
Anyway, I guess for me, the self-confidence I’ve built after seeing myself all the way through this journey from when I had only 10 Spotify listeners and was living all alone outside Nashville, Tennessee driving Lyft all day every day to be barely able to afford to live in this terrible house with a perpetual wasp infestation, a faulty toilet, faulty shower, faulty fridge and faulty heating system where I’d go to sleep in a big, winter jacket and pants half the year, all while drinking myself to oblivion every night of the week trying to cope with being in an unfaithful long-distance relationship ––and then seeing how incredible and amazing my life is now has truly been so unbelievably rewarding for me. I still may not be even anywhere close to where I want to be but at least now I’m over 4 years alcohol free, happy, doing music/modeling/acting full-time, living in a beautiful home in California and have an amazing, loyal fanbase that spreads across the entire world ––and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://christopherkenji.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/christopherkenji
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/christopherkenjiofficial
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/christopherkenji
Image Credits
Sean Hilton, Jack Hu, Zak Mitchell, Marlon Hurtado, Arun Nevader, Tyler Wang