Kevin Ross on His Career, Leaving The Major Label and His Videos Reaching 100M+ Views, Monetizing on His Music

On this episode of Can We Talk R&B, Ian Von welcomes Singer/ Songwriter, Kevin Ross. Kevin Ross talks about his upbringing in DC, falling in love with music, musical influences, and career building. He recalls a pivotal time in his career touring with Neyo and Maxwell. Kevin also explains why he left the major label and how he went viral, reaching over 100M+ views on his videos throughout the pandemic, plus so much more. You don't want to miss this episode. 0:00 - 2:45 Intro 2:45 - 5:00 Being from Dc 5:00 - 6:03 90s era of music 6:03 - 7:20 Music adapting new sounds 7:20 - 8:55 Musicianship 8:55 - 12:10 When did you decide to pursue music 12:10 - 13:15 Spending time on music 13:15 - 14:00 Learning how to use recording machines 14:00 - 16:20 What inspired you to make videos? 16:20 - 18:35 Adding mixing and mashups 18:35 - 20:00 Reaching 100M views 20:00 - 21:50 Motown’s writing camp 21:50 - 23:00 Being isolated 23:00 - 23:40 The development phase 23:40 - 24:27 Touring with Maxwell and Neyo 24:27 - 26:13 Ponder on artistry 26:13 - 27:27 How did touring with Maxwell and Neyo happen 27:27 - 28:33 Understanding the vision 28:33 - 30:00 Deciding to leave the label 30:00 - 31:00 Talking with the label 31:00 - 32:08 Going independent 32:08 - 33:22 Benefits of an independent artist 33:22 - 34:12 Having a good team 34:12 - 35:01 Using resources to be successful as an independent Artist 35:01 - 36:33 Telling the story in music 36:33 - 37:53 Transitioning throughout the project 37:53 - 38:58 Exploring in Songwriting 38:57 - 41:06 Artists telling stories in music 41:06 - 42:58 Being able to have longevity 42:58 - 43:54 Dream Collab 43:54 - 44:53 Kenyon Dixon collaboration 44:53 - 46:20 Where does the freedom to express yourself in your music come from? 46:20 - 48:30 Earth Wind & Fire vs Franky Beverly and Maze 48:30 - 50:50 The cultural impact of the bands 50:50 - 57:15 Deep Dive - God is a Genius 57:15 - 1:03:30 Top 5 R&B Songs Written 1:03:30 - 1:07:00 R&B being on the rise 1:07:00 - 1:07:50 Check out the Patreon 1:07:50 - 1:08:02 Ending ✅ LISTEN, FOLLOW AND RATE Hosted & Created by: Ian Von Produced by: Launch Pod Studio Edited by: Lazy Pickle Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices