We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Keith Phelps. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Keith below.

Keith, appreciate you joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

This was the entire premise for my most recent project, “Primo Nemesis”. It’s an acceptance that you will indeed be the villain to those that do not wish you well. I believe anyone who is sure of themselves while demanding an extreme level of craft accountability within an art form is going to be wildly misunderstood or mischaracterized. Throughout my journey as an entertainment professional, the two most prevalent diseases I find are willful ignorance and shiftless complacency. It’s an unspoken code of conduct that is protected by croneyism and a disregard for excellence. Hard work, education, and true star power present a violent challenge to that code of conduct.

In a less specific manner, the story usually goes like this. I encounter a group of tenured complacent individuals who find my new, innovative, hardworking, and studious tendencies to be discomforting. They are threatened, not by my existence but unknowingly, by their own deflated self-perception and auto-pilot complacency. Any recognition received for hard work and genuine effort is infuriating to those individuals and immediately deems the “new guy” to be the villain. It’s an exhausting turn of events and yet somewhat expected after all my industry experience. Talent and opportunity often come as gifts that you don’t always have control over beyond accepting those gifts. True stand-out greatness is a daily renewal, an ongoing commitment. Few in this life are willing to make that commitment everyday of their lives. The thing I’ve learned most from these scenarios is to focus on those who have the ability to see the truth about who you truly are and that often times the unified lynch mob is far more performative than effective when it comes to inhibitive defamation.

Keith, 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 grew up in a very musically disciplined family. My father had friends and colleagues that produced and toured with some of the most impressive talent within the industry. They revered him quite often and credited his approach to music as one of the things that helped propel them to their position within the industry. From the time I was 12 years old, I realized that I wanted to, at least, tour and produce for the same level of talent. Because of what my father instilled in me, I felt like I was capable even in middle school. Prior to my first tour, which was with American Idol Season 10 Finalist, Haley Reinhart, I had several near-misses regarding production placements…enough to change my emphasis on producing for the top tier talent to becoming one of the top tier talent. After more production near-misses, 4 tours as a keyboardist, and contributing to the scoring and songwriting for 6 films, and 5 very cautious independent projects, it finally clicked. People are not going to believe in my once-in-a-generation ability unless I become comfortable demonstrating it in full and doing so unapologetically.

In walks the release of “Primo Nemesis”. I am most proud of this project because it is not a closeted version of my self-perception. It is how I see myself in full. It is how frustrated I am with a great deal of the industry to which I have access. It is the immediacy of all that I love and hate in one almost-chorus-free rap onslaught. I want people to listen to the music and say “He believed in himself and is not afraid to accept his greatness. I can do that and become far more than my background or my circumstances ever afforded me”

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

I was making a mediocre living in Orlando, FL as a local musician, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. After the lockdowns, my entire means of generating income was gone. My parents helped me financially for the remainder of my apartment lease and then my wife and I packed up all that we had to move into her parents basement in North Carolina. The town is small with a far less aggressive entertainment scene than what you would find in Central Florida. The Covid restrictions and curfews were also far more stringent. At the time, it felt as if all my industry experience and former ability of making a living was null and void. I applied for a handful of jobs and ended up getting an interview at a Journey’s sneaker store in the local shopping mall. I felt like the life I wanted and dreamed of was over.

However, I accepted where I was in my life and took it as a challenge to make some of the best music I could. I wanted that to be the reason why I exited my current situation or at least what inspired me to do so. I’d sneak to the back of the stock room to write verses or, while on the sales floor, hide one bluetooth earpiece in my ear while listening to beats and combing through production decisions. The basement in my in-laws home wasn’t as well-insulated as the rest of the house. So, if it was hot outside, it was hot in the basement and if it was cold outside, it was freezing in the basement. I’d work the closing shift at Journey’s in the winter, come home with my coat, hat, and gloves, turn on all my equipment and rap my ass off. In-short, that 10 month period of time resulted in 21 completed songs, a call to tour with Patti LaBelle, and while I was back and forth moving into my new apartment, I recorded the 9 songs that became, “Primo Nemesis”. Your life and career is the sum of how you respond to the things that happen to you. We can’t control what happens but we can go above and beyond to make the best of the circumstantial aftermath.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I would say the most rewarding aspect has to be the artistic freedom….the license to address the things that you feel in an open platform. For a while, I didn’t believe that. I felt that art was far more of a “responsibility” than self-expression. Some of the unspoken sociopolitical expectations of artists are somewhat unfair and turn the beautiful process of making art into an anxious list of checks and balances. Artists should just create whats truly on their heart. I’ve found that joy for myself and am looking forward to diving further into that honesty

Contact Info:

• Website: keithphelpsmusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/keithphelps
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/keithphelpsmusic
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/keithphelps
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/keithphelpsmusic