We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kenneth Brown II a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kenneth, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

During the past few years, I participated in several meaningful projects, such as performing with esteemed groups and artists. This included Alphonso Johnson of Weather Report as well Hubert and Ronnie Laws for the Miles Davis: Sketches of Spain tribute directed by Todd Simon. Months later, I performed with South Side Symphony featuring Ms. Andra Day and Chloe X Halle for Tina Knowles-Lawson’s Art Gala. My projects included the Season 22 and 23 Finale of the Thece with contestants from John Legend and Kelly Clarkson’s team. Recently, I was hired to write a score for a short film called ‘Deserve’ which premiered at the Indie Nights Film Festival, the Silicon Beach Film Festival, and received an international selection at the AIMAFF Festival in Athens. In addition to the above meaningful projects, I received my first sponsorship from Westone Audio.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into the industry by playing in church at a young age. Some band members at the church I played at performed with artists such as Bootsy Collins and Robin Thicke. Hearing their experiences of performing alongside them encouraged me to pursue a career in the music industry.

What sets me apart from others is that I have Perfect Pitch. A person with perfect pitch can identify notes and chords without referencing other notes. Due to my strong memory, I have the ability to learn melodies and phrases quickly by hearing it once or twice. As a trumpet player, I can play accurately in tune at A=440 (a pitch corresponding to an audio frequency of 440 Hz). Because I have perfect pitch, it’s one of my biggest strengths as a musician, especially when my memory is just as strong.

I’m most proud of the personal and musical growth I’ve experienced since the start of the pandemic. Over the past three years, I’ve played with well-known artists such as Kelly Rowland, Roddy Ricch, and Blood Orange. It was also a huge honor for me to play on the GRAMMYs and the Ellen Show in 2021. All those experiences were amazing because I had the chance to learn from my peers in my age group and musicians who have been in the industry for a long time, such as Dontae Winslow. I also grew as a leader, establishing two of my own groups, Front Yard Groove and the Kenneth Brown Collective. Creating those groups gave me the chance to grow as a musician and person, which helped me find my voice musically.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I believe that non-creatives struggle to understand a creative’s journey because a creator’s social media presence doesn’t define the creator as an artist or their creations. At most times, people tend to believe that one’s social media numbers represent their value and often compare themselves to their contemporaries, which is unhealthy. Everyone goes at their own pace. As creative or artists, we can’t compare ourselves to our colleagues who look more successful on social media, and we can’t let social media numbers define the value of our art or who we are as artists.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I believe society can do these three things. Their first action is to like, save, share, and support a creative’s art on social media. For musicians, download and buy their music. The second action is to pay the creatives fairly and on time. I’ve heard many stories where musicians and creatives aren’t paid their dues correctly. The final action is not to ultimately allow artificial intelligence to devalue musical and artistic creativity. As Prince stated, “You can use the computer, but don’t let the computer use you.”

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.kennethbrownmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenneth_brown_music/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Kenneth-Brown-II/pfbid02RT6ajNpYR3ZQtPJoggU8Zk6Ui4Wz77teBd3XYLSYdDKQY4FZ5fRT8BCoVxSNDH6Ql/

Image Credits
Picture #1: @camgrants Picture #3: @kaleb_the_jah Picture #4: @iconicwdmedia Picture #5: @laharpista