“The Music business is turning over to the indies and everyone is rising from nowhere off their own passion and grind for this dream that we all chase. I know coming in the pro and cons, but life waits for no one and sometimes you learn the hard way in your city before you even get to say you “Made It” So I’d rather deal with the negatives knowing it’s a purpose at hand. ” – @cuttykev9190
Listen to the Live Interview
Episode #323 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/05/12/episode-323-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax
GETTING TO KNOW KEVIN BENJAMIN CUTTY KEV
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
Music business…
is turning over to the indies and everyone is rising from nowhere off their own passion and grind for this dream that we all chase. I know coming in the pro and cons, but life waits for no one and sometimes you learn the hard way in your city before you even get to say you “Made It” So I’d rather deal with the negatives knowing it’s a purpose at hand.
The Pros are that I get to do what I love…
and share my music with those interested in hearing it. The Cons is that you really have no control over the outcome. You can have the hardest joint or the whackest and it won’t matter. It’s all about who you know and what is behind it. To overcome this I just stay focused on my music and my family. Be the best person I can and that’s what keeps me going.
Social media…
I love social media I remember I started on myspace. It’s the new avenue to pursue your goals far as business. I use it far as promotion.
I feel like the single is essential because…
it lets your fans know the mood of the next project and the dedication to the game as artists drop full bodies of work every day. Singles also help create the buzz if you’re relatively unknown. People then want to know what else you got. When you’re already established you don’t necessarily have to rely on singles and use them as a way to let your fans know you have a new album coming out, but you can pretty much drop an album whenever you want and they’ll run out and by them.
For me I’ve dropped a couple of mixtapes and now I’ve released a single. My strategy is to have a body of work that fans can listen to to see that I’m in it for the long haul and make good music. I’m also promoting my single Want It All to let fans know what they can expect from me in the future. I’m also using that as a way to break into the main stream and get some radio play.
My music ambition and drive…
dates back to my elementary school days. At the age of 7 I used to rap in the cafeteria with classmates mimicking artists such as Cash Money Hot Boys and Jay-Z, but the one I looked up to the most was Tupac Shakur who I picked up from my father Kevin Simon Benjamin.
I’m with Got Ta Know (GTK) Enterprizes as a solo artist, but my team is known as So Swagg.
Want It All…
the story behind this song is simply a change of tempo on both ends of my grind as an artist coming up from my city….i say that because before i signed with GTK Enterprizes i released my second official mixtape #NEWHEAT dat involved mostly features from my So Swagg Team..I knew that my comradery would be noticed if heard so it was a cool idea anyway and we recorded alot beforehand. The original beat for Want It All was found on youtube by my fellow label mate “Spiffy” but a few weeks after I wrote it I signed with GTK and flew to Atlanta and met my producer “Renzy808” and he laced me with track and the rest is history. The main message in Want It All is my life is changing musically and personally and I’m not backing down from no challenges because I simply “Want It All” and I wanted to really express my love for the game wit a tribute to the late great “Tupac” inda second verse.
Get the song: http://www.musicvos.com/cutty-kev-want-it-all-single-itunes-plus-aac-m4a.html
You can expect diversity from me…
I’m from Baltimore, but I definitely don’t have a B’more sound. I have love for all kinds of music and it shows in my music. The significance of Want It All is that it’s my solo career debut with GTK. Up to this point everything I’ve done has been with my So Swagg crew which you can here on my recently released mixtape #NewHeat which is definitely a great body of work that contains a lot of features with the team. It’s also a stepping stone being used to get my solo career going which is new for me. I know I got my team with me and with all the support and love we all have for each other it makes it a little easier in this new chapter. As the title states for Want It All, I want it all. I want all the grinding I’ve been doing to finally payoff so me and my team can eat. The great thing about that song and my mixtape is that it captures what I’ve been really going through living in Baltimore and how I do this for my family and especially my little daughter. If you listen to the lyrics of my songs you see I capture the realities of life in general. Whether it’s dealing with friends, family, relationships, or the streets in general. There’s something for everyone to relate to.
As for marketing…
I’m using social media and really any and all avenues that allows me to get my music out to the masses.
I was born and raised in Baltimore city…
where we have plenty of musical festivities old school and new. I feel like music is what keeps us up in our self-destructed city sad enough to say, but I love it here.
My grandma kept me listening to 95.9 and my pops kept on that 2Pac, Biggie, Big Pun you know “Real Music” and I simply gravitated to it. Coming up on my music grind I go to local spots like the Baltimore Soundstage, The Sonar, The Paparazzi, but when I’m not doing music I really enjoy spending time with my 4 year old daughter Asia and my family. They’re all I have and I know love when it’s in my face.
I would love to have 5 minutes alone with….
My uncle. He was murdered in my city and it was a senseless death foreal. He was my father figure for as long as he was on this earth and he was and honest man and family member…he taught me right from wrong foreal.
I just spit what I feel…
and what I’m going through in my life and love that music is evolving but music could be at a complete stand still far as my preferred genre “Hip Hop/Rap” From Andre 3000 to Young Thug Music is Turning Its Wheel
I am most afraid of… God
My personal definition of success is..
Of course I’d like to make enough money off of this to support my family, but overall I just want to get my music out to everyone and build a faithful fan base that loves what I do and appreciates everything that goes into my music.
The greatest success story I have right now is…
my being involved and an active part of my daughter’s life. I put her before anything and anyone and want to make sure that she has her father in her life always! There’s just too many kids growing up without their fathers and I refuse to let us become another static or sterotype.
My over all goal for my life & career is…
To be the greatest father I can be to my daughter is my overall goal in life. As for my career, I want to be on that Drake, Jay-Z, and TuPac level where I’m loved all over the world, yet respected in the game.
3 Ways that I challenge myself…
1) I challenge myself to always spend quality time with my daughter which keeps me focused and driven to succeed and despite any hurdles or perceived failures, never give up.
2) I surround myself with people who truly have my back. My So Swagg team have been my Day ones and we grind together and support each other no matter what. Whether it’s as a team or everyone’s sole career we don’t hate or get jealous. The goal is for at least one of us to make it out and look out for the crew.
3) I make sure my management and professional team is strong. You always hear about bad deals or people getting taken advantage of so you need to make sure that the people you trust to manage your career and funds aren’t looking to get over on you or solely in it to get rich off of you. This allows me to be able to focus on my music and I trust that any suggestions they make is in my best interest.
Social Media
https://www.reverbnation.com/cuttykev
https://soundcloud.com/cutty-kev
https://www.facebook.com/cutty.kev?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
http://twitter.com/cuttykev9190
http://instagram.com/soswagg_cuttykev9190