KENNY HAILEY 

for LOVE YOU TO DEATH MAGAZINE

Raised in Washington D.C., Kenny Hailey is rising musician who isn’t afraid to take creative risks. His eclectic musical style and vocal ability shines throughout his debut single ‘Lost’ from his upcoming project Things Change. ‘Lost’ offers listeners a chilling psychedelic infused track, influenced by artists such as Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones, following Hailey’s journey to find god. 

Listen to ‘Lost’ now to see why Kenny Hailey is our latest Artist to Watch, and check out his interview with Kyle Stuart below to learn more about the song and his upcoming project

Listen on Apple Music, Spotify, or SoundCloud.

The first track you are debuting from your album Things Change is called 'Lost' -- The song seems to follow you on a spiritual journey with the ending lyrics being "I've found God." Can you tell us a little bit more about the track? 

February 28th, 2016. I was raised in a church my father attended in Northeast DC and as I got older I lost connection to my belief system. On that day, I had a panic attack and I felt as if I had nowhere to go but to church. So, I went. And after that day my life started to change. At the same time, the song is one long thought inside my head. I wanted to make a soundtrack to what that sounds like, versus explaining in detail how I’m lost. I’m searching for God throughout the whole song and in my darkest moment, at the very last second, I find God and I see the light at the end of the tunnel which keeps me going. You can’t have the sunshine without the rain. 

'Lost' in a way almost sounds like a psychedelic rock track fused within the hip-hop realm - tell me if I’m wrong. Is there something specific that helped inspire the creation of 'Lost'? Are you inspired by any specific genres, genre-blending, or other musicians? If so, what and who? 

Yes and no. When I first started working on the song I pitched my ideas to my manager Jake. After that he showed me Pink Floyd, and then it was a wrap. Straight up. I studied and listened to Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Beatles and James Brown everyday for a few months and that helped me incorporate certain sounds and voices into the song. It’s crazy because there's no effects on my voice at all. As I’m growing as an artist i’m learning to bend my vocal chords and use my voice as an instrument which is tight. But back to the question, I did take inspiration from different eras of psychedelic music, from Pink Floyd to The Rolling Stones, to James Brown, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and even Grateful Dead. I simply wanted to mimic that sound and my own mambo sauce to it. 

Every artist has their own unique process when it comes to creating. What is your creative process like when it comes to writing a song or starting a big project? 

Man.. my creative process varies a lot. It depends on the mood of the song or the story I’m conveying, but It’s different each time. Though, I have standard exercises that I do for every song. Every song starts off on a blank canvas and can stem from a conversation I have with a stranger, or from a picture I see in a book. Then, I’ll start marking the blank canvas with words, colors, pictures, the structure of the song, and lastly the lyrics. Next, I’ll start the recording process. At other times, It’ll take too long to sit and write the lyrics so i’ll think of them in my head and start recording right away. I always keep my notebook wherever I go and i’ll write down my ideas and lyrics during that day. I’ll also record melodies and lyrics in my voice memos on my iPhone. 

As stated earlier, 'Lost' is the first song released off your upcoming project THINGS CHANGE. What can we expect to hear from Things Change? Will it be similar to 'Lost' or can we expect a variety of different tracks? 

You can expect to hear a soundtrack that fits a time period of my life. There won’t be a song on the project that sounds like “Lost” or any song in general that sounds the same. Each song has it own personality and character. The overall concept of the project focuses on the theory of the mind and how our brain works. At the same time, I will be telling a conceptual story based off my experiences, all through the music.

Whats next for Kenny Hailey during this THINGS CHANGE era? Any visuals, more singles, release date? 

What’s next? Never tell your right hand what your left hand is doing. You’ll see, pun intended. 

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