K'Jon Readies New Album and Wants You to Get to Know Him

Kelvin Johnson, who performs as K’Jon, will be releasing his next album, Moving On on April 10, 2012. K’Jon garnered widespread attention for his hit song “On The Ocean- , which earned him a #1 radio hit and set the record for the longest run on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Song, surpassing Usher’s single “You Make Me Wanna- and Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You.-

The Detroit based R&B singer/songwriter is not afraid to tackle grown up and serious content in his songs. He is truly an artist of substance. Check out the video for his new single “Will You Be There” which deals head on with issues of depression and suicide. While Moving On features a mix of diverse material, one thing is for sure, K’Jon is an artist of immense talent and substance.

An entrepreneurial spirit at heart K’Jon runs his own independent label out of Detroit (his home base) and is working on an independent film that he is co-directing that is set in the 40s in the Motor City called Dancing Shoes. It’s about a rivalry between Ballroom dancers in Detroit and Chicago Steppers who threaten to invade the club scene.

Cocoa Cure: Did you think your hit “On The Ocean- would be as successful as it was?

K’Jon: It was on two previous independent releases and then gone on to a national release so obviously I thought it was a great song and kept pushing for it to happen, [but]no, I had no way to know that the song would do as great as it did. I was tremendously surprised but at the same time I was very happy.

CC: A lot of great artists come from Detroit. Have any of those known artists inspired you?

K’Jon: I think overall the Motown family. It’s a lot of pressure to succeed. It’s so rich in its tradition of R&B. I’m inspired by everyone. I’m really fixated by Marvin Gaye way back in the day though. I’m very impressed with the way Marvin recorded.

CC: Like many of today’s R&B artists who have determined to bring back “real R&B-, is that your plight as well? Or is your music inspired by various other genres?

K’Jon: Old school R&B is great. And I think that a lot of other styles of music [have] branched off from R&B. Even today [Hip-Hop music] is sampling from Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Otis Redding. I have a choice since I’ve gone independent now so I kind of want to go middle of the road. I definitely like the “Ocean- vibe, [but] a lot of people aren’t aware of how marketable and commercial I am as well. I definitely know my identity, but the middle road with the modern or urban mainstream is where I want to incorporate with the grown folks’ music. I think that’s what people are missing out on, and I would be cheating myself if I didn’t give that to my fan base and to people who want to know more about who I am.

CC: So you believe that R&B hasn’t gone anywhere, it’s just expanded or branched out.

K’Jon: Definitely. [Traditional] R&B is not getting a lot of support. It should not be on the bottom of the totem pole, lower end of the totem pole from where it started. The state of R&B is kinda sad and disappointing. Now when you think of R&B you think of Neo-Soul. I think it’s more than that. Artists have to be careful not to deliver the same type of flavor all the time because that could be maybe what’s tuning some people out. I’m not sure but it’s definitely a problem.

CC: What made you want to address suicide and depression in the video of your new single, “Will You Be There?-

K’Jon: Videos should enhance the record, to help expose the record. I like to be that artist that touches on real issues. I know a couple of people whose kids were affected by it [suicide]. It’s always great when you can do a song and help bring more awareness to a problem.

CC: What other themes are prevalent in “Moving On-?

K’Jon: It’s very light, it’s very beautiful, very bright. There’s several club songs that come from the Midwest and ballroom stepping.

photo credit: Robert Ascroft