R&B soul singer Kenny Lattimore will be appearing at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx, on Saturday, March 26 at 8:00 pm wherein he is sure to sing songs from his new CD “Anatomy of a Love Song.” He will share the Lehman Center stage with the group Dru Hill who are celebrating their 20th Anniversary and vocalist Jon B.
This writer spoke with the Washington, DC, born singer, whom after a delay of seven years, has returned to the stage not only via music, but he has also been exercising his considerable talent through Lolita Snipes gospel stage play “Lolita Snipes’ Head Over Heels.”
“Yes, I am presently doing the play entitled “Lolita Snipes’ Head Over Heels,” and I’m having fun doing it. It’s a gospel-styled play that is a great departure from the concert stuff I have going on. It adds diversity and another dimension to me,” said Kenny.
Dubbed a “modern soul man,” by the New York Times, the Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter has climbed the charts over the years with hits like “For You,” “Never Too Busy,” “Days Like This,” “Weekend” and “If I Lose My Woman. Also, his latest “Love Me Back” is climbing the charts. Kenny personally wrote the song, “You’re My Girl” featured on his current CD “Anatomy of A Love Song.”
“Music is so powerful but objective. It affects our lives in various ways so as a result you get different reactions from people. I did surveys to see if the new album “Anatomy of A Love Song,” was musically appealing across the board. When I got a consistent reaction from people, even if they were not familiar with the Kenny Lattimore brand, I noted it was something about the melody of the song that appealed to folks. My music has a spiritual undertone because the message in my music is about real love, godly love. The sacrifice of it and the purity of it,” explained Lattimore. He continued, “These days those in control of exposing music to the public are choosing music based on research, numbers and advertising dollars. Things that have nothing to do with the human experience or real passion. Instead they go for the lowest common denominator. They want people to think what they want them to think and feel what they want them to feel. I am not used to that. If you are constantly pumping something into people’s heads it starts to affect people spiritually and psychologically.”
Kenny talked about his son, Kenny Jr. “I am about to have a teenager on my hands. He is about to enter high school,” chuckled Kenny whose son’s birth date and Kenny’s birthday are the same. “I have been teaching my son about responsibility and respecting authority. I love being my son’s dad. I look at him and see him as a version of me so I watch his spirit soar. He is a sponge, an open book and very unafraid. The younger me was very shy. My son is my ray of hope. I want him to be a great man. He recorded his first song last summer. He has the music in him. I have allowed him to explore. He has done acting, track, also been in the junior Olympics. I make sure he is exposed to great things.”
Kenny wrote You’re My Girl. “ For me, every song comes differently, You’re my Girl, came to me as a music track initially. When I heard the music, it took me back to my childhood reminding me of a Marvin Gaye and Ron Isley kind of mix. The guitar part reminded me of the Isley Brothers. But the grove reminded me of “You Sure Love To Ball” by Marvin Gaye. I combined all those thoughts together and came up with the idea of “You’re My Girl.” I write a little less these days because I have had to become a different type of entertainment executive for my own sake. That is where my own label Sincere Soul Records has come from and my touring company KL Entertainment Group. I am running these companies and understanding how to brand myself and place myself in the industry with this new age.”
Lattimore talked about why he started his own music company and went his own way musically. “I grew tired of music executives telling me to be someone else. I have been in the business for 30 years. This year is my 20th year as a solo artist. So now I know who I am.” explained the sensitive singer. “For marketing purposes, others have tried to make me into something different. These people were confused about whether I’d be successful in the music industry…which had nothing to do with whether I could sing or not but what I chose to sing. My stance is to sing positive music. Coming from the church, I felt a responsibility to be authentic in my music which was birthed and born in me from the spirit and from my intellect. Some people sent a particular message to me at the time I came into the business that they didn’t get my musical stance. They said things like aren’t Black men these thugs or one dimensional…assuming Black men were about sex and being thugs. It was a difficult time for me. I felt judged as an African American man by folks who were not African American. It was like they thought African Males cannot be sensitive or diverse. I know Hip hop sells faster and executives want to make money, but people still want diversity and romance. Love never goes out of style.”
Fans can get Kenny Lattimore’s CD “Anatomy of A Love Song” on Amazon.com, and Kennylattimore.com. For tickets to the March 26th show, call 718-960-8833 or go online via www.LehmanCenter.org.
You can catch my Topically Yours show with Kenny Lattimore via http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blakeradio/2016/03/18/topically-yours–kenny-lattimore
