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Feature: Reflection Eternal - Kendra Ross
Interviewer: Lucy Whitehead
A firm part of the NYC soul underground, Kendra not only owns a soft and mellifluous set of vocals but also writes
high quality material and is in constant demand for her songwriting skills. A longtime collaborator of NYC hip hop artist
Talib Kweli and a prolific backing vocalist and arranger, Kendra is ready to shine in her own light. As the cheers from
the USA’s biggest sporting event radiate from TV sets around Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill, Kendra takes time out to speak to us
about how she got to where she is now, her future plans, and her feelings on the current state of the New York City
underground music scene.
When did you decide to make music your career?
Well I always thought it was what I was going to do in terms of some sort of performing art - I was always dancing and
acting as a child - but then when I got to college I thought I should focus on the business side…being a lawyer or
something. But when I got out of college I realized how much I hated that idea. And so I probably got serious about music
again in my early twenties, 21 or so. So for the past 7, 8 years it’s been serious but I always thought I was going to be a
performing artist.
How long have you called New York home?
I moved to New York in ’93, I was 17, so that’s ten and a half years. Ten lovely long years.
I bet you know everyone there is to know on the underground musicians scene…can it get a little small?
It really is. And I’ve found that more in the past few years. Initially I knew people on the underground hip hop scene -
people I went to college with. But then I started doing background vocals in 1999-2000. I met so many musicians, and now it
feels like we’re all one little community, it could be a small town in Oklahoma - you see the same people at the same
shows...
How did you get involved with Talib Kweli?
Kweli and I have known each other since ’93. He was a freshman at the same time as me at NYU. He was an acting major, and I
used to have a crush on one of his friends, and we all just started hanging out, in the dorm room you know, and he started
rhyming - taking that more seriously. Then, when he dropped out of school to focus on the music thing, we all just kept in
contact.
Tell me how you feel about black music in the US at the moment. Do you feel it’s moving in a positive direction?
I feel two ways about it. On one hand I feel a little disappointed by the one-sidedness of it, and what young people have to
choose from in terms of music, and that we as musicians are compromising ourselves in order to get big deals. On the other
side I am optimistic as to what the future has to hold, because I think people are getting fed up - you can see it when
people like Jill Scott come out - they’re so hungry for it. So there is the opportunity for artists to come in there and
be creative, go back to the grassroots ways and not depend on the big corporations, because they (the corporations) don’t
know what they’re doing right now.
You also work at a major label. Has that affected how you feel about the recording industry, and pursuing a deal with a
major?
Totally. Originally I thought I might want to get a deal with a major record label, and I’m not saying its a total
impossibility, but now I’d probably be happier on an independent label, not making so much money but doing what I love, as
a career - having some artistic license to try things out and be creative and not be compromised just to satisfy the
corporate machine. I’ve changed my opinion on what it means to be a recording artist.
Tell me a little about who you are writing for at the moment.
I’m working with Kweli again. I wrote a song with him called We Know Love, but this time we decided that we would
have someone else sing so Faith Evans actually recorded that - the track will be on his next album, called The Beautiful
Struggle, to be released in spring 2004. I’m about to start writing with a really great jazz musician named Lonnie
Plaxico, [composer / bass player / Cassandra Wilson’s former musical director - Ed.], as well as Christian Ver Halen [NYC
guitarist and Blue Note booker], and the producer / guitar player Teddy Crockett [brother of Alison]. I’m focusing more on
musicians I love as opposed to beatmakers and producers, which is great too, but I need to go back to the foundations and
start from there.
Tell me about your influences. According to your bio they are more diverse than a lot of people might imagine.
I think I’ve been heavily influenced by a lot of different music, I can feel the good and bad in a lot of different styles,
and as I get older I get more open minded. My favorite is Lewis Taylor - he is truly amazing. Donny Hathaway is probably my
favorite voice ever. His tone is so rich and beautiful, as is his daughter’s, Lalah Hathaway. Sarah Vaughn, Anita Baker,
Cassandra Wilson, Joni Mitchell (my favorite writer), Kate Bush (another great writer), Jeff Buckley, Steely Dan...the list
goes on and on.
How much has the church been part of your life?
Church has been a huge part of it. I was one of those kids that grew up in the church. My grandfather’s a preacher, my
uncle’s a preacher, my mother’s a choir director. As you get older you tend to stray away as you find your own direction,
and I got into the hip hop thing. But I found myself coming back into gospel as I realized that most contemporary music
has been heavily influenced by gospel music. I’ve embraced that side and realized that it’s really important as far as soul
music is concerned; the depth of the sound and soul of the music is so key.
Did your parents encourage you to take a musical direction?
Definitely. My father was in the television and entertainment business, so he was always around a lot of musicians from the
Motown era and stuff, so he’s always encouraged me since I was a little girl, like, “oh this is gonna be my superstar!” But
my mother was always more practical, she always nurtured and encouraged me - took me to whatever dance class I needed to
go to. So in their own way they’ve always supported me.
You’ve recently been to Europe. Did the UK have a different take on music...did you check out many UK based artists?
What I love about the UK is that everyone loves music. They have their different scenes, like people that like punk love
punk and people that love soul love soul - they are die-hard. And everyone’s a DJ and everyone just breathes and lives
music. That is great for me because that’s how I am. When I’m at work I have to be listening to music. In America music has
kind of been put into the backdrop. But to me music makes the world go round. I know it may sound corny, but I think
people in the UK get it!
Is there anywhere else you’d like to live and work?
I’d love to live in a lot of places. I could see myself living and working part time in the UK definitely. There would be
things I’d miss about New York, but I could see myself doing three or six months a year in London. It’d be good to be in
a place that inspires my creativity. Definitely Brazil - my dream is going to Bahia. And in the States, I love Lake Taho
- a lot of hippies, the good kind. People are just real chilled, you can go and sit by the mountains and write. I’ve never
been to Africa - I’d like to go there too.
Has the crackdown on music and dancing in the city affected you at all?
It changes things but its actually made me more focused so I’m not too worried about it. There was a period where I felt I
had to be out all the time. And it’s cool because people get to know you. You get to see a lot of different musicians and
players, meet people, but at the end of the day you have to get on with your own music. I feel like there’s a group of us
that are gonna cause some sort of revolution. The nightlife is going through some changes but if its making us get our
thing together then it’s a good thing instead of always being out dancing.
How do you feel about all the tough policies the Bloomberg and Guiliani have implemented? Has it made New York a better
place?
In certain ways. I feel bad for people that smoke because they have to go outside but then again I don’t because I can come
home and not smell like a smoke-bag. I don’t think people are that bothered by the change. There’s something else I heard,
some new law they may be bringing in to make people pay an extra fee if they want to be open past 1 o’clock in the morning.
I’m like, “Oh God - they really don’t want anyone to have any fun!" But I think people would fight that. New York is the
center of nightlife, and if they do away with that, what would that be saying?
Do you think New York is still a musical epicenter?
I do but I see it slowly slipping away if people aren't careful. You can see great shows anytime every day -
it’s definitely good for that. But other places around the world are catching up, like London. It’s getting to a point
where you don’t have to be in New York anymore. People used to feel like they had to be here, like if they did country
they had to be in Nashville, but cities are making their own scene just like Seattle did, you know. New York is getting
commercial and I think that people are doing their own thing from wherever they’re from.
When can we expect to see Kendra Ross on the shelves?
I hope within a year. I’m really going to concentrate more on recording, writing, mixing and perfecting the sound of the
music. I’m getting more into the engineering side of things - you know I want it to sound good for people! I’m hoping
to have at least an EP done by the summer.
Where would you like to see yourself in ten years?
Wow. Well ideally I’d like to have released a record or two, and got to play some great live places, rather than the same
five clubs in NYC, my church, or back in Pittsburgh, which is great but...you know. Hopefully have one or two kids.
I definitely want to travel more and perform my music live, cause I feel like I’m getting more comfortable in my own skin
now, and I feel the next ten years will be a good period for me to get things done and progress towards the next period
in my life.
RELATED LINKS:
Kendra Ross - official website
Buy Talib Kweli's Quality (contains Won't You Stay featuring Kendra) at Amazon
UK
(CD)
| US (CD)
PUBLISHED: Saturday 28 February 2004
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::: RELATED LINKS
Kendra Ross - official website
Buy Reflection Eternal at Amazon
UK
(CD /
Vinyl)
US (CD /
Vinyl)
|
