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The Loveable Gangsta
Category: Music
Type: Interview
Author: Alex Kucharski
With only seventeen years behind him, Sean Kingston is the new generation of music. With his sweet smile and youthful charm, along with his hit single, "Beautiful Girls", Sean Kingston has captured the hearts of girls and the ears of a population. But is he more gangster than people think?
Sean recently spoke to CX to discuss not only his new album, but also his life, and uncovered a few struggles from his past that could make most rappers in the game blush. But that's all behind him. And just like Justin Timberlake bragged last year that he was bringing sexy back, Sean Kingston boasts that he's bringing "feel good music back".
CX: What does it feel like to know that you're making an impact on the music industry?
SK: Man, it feels great. Especially when you know that you're loving what you're doing and you've been wanting to do it since you were young. It feels great. This has been my dream.
CX: You write all your own rhymes. Do you take on any other roles in the studio?
SK: I love how the instruments combine together, how you make beats and stuff. I really like the whole style. I'm tied to a multi-platinum producer, so I might work for him and start producing beats. Who knows?
CX: You were discovered on MySpace, which has carved a whole new niche into the music landscape. How do you think the Internet is progressing in the music scene?
SK: I think the Internet is helping out a lot. I really, really think it's helping out a lot. It changed my life and I'm sure it can change the next artist's life. Back in the day when people sent in demo tapes and CD's, that era is kinda not really there no more. I think it's about who you know, or if you have a buzz in your town, or if VJ's play your record on local stations. And I thought it was a good chance [to use MySpace] and God blessed me where I can hit somebody up on MySpace [J.R. Rotem, music producer] and they replied back and I got a record deal which is so crazy.
CX: What is the ingredient to your success?
SK: What it is, is that I'm humble. I'm Godly; it's all unity and love for me. I write all my music. I just like to write music that people can relate to. I don't curse in my music. I'm just trying to bring feel good music back and I just think that's why I'm where I'm at with "Beautiful Girls". I feel lucky. When you're a new artist and you're new on the scene, you have to be humble, have people respect you first before you can be who you want to be. You just have to push your name out first, have people relate to your music, connect with you as an artist, and that's exactly what I'm doing.
CX: What can people expect if they go out and pick up your album?
SK: If you love "Beautiful Girls" you're gonna love the album. The album is a little bit of everything: reggae, doo-wop, pop, R&B, rap. It's everything "cause I'm good at each one of them. With this album you're gonna get to know me. I'm bringing feel good music back. You're gonna get to know Sean Kingston; you're gonna get to know my struggles; you're gonna get to know what I dream of, where I want to go; you're gonna get to know about me and mom, I have two tracks that I wrote about my mom on the album "cause she's a big part of my life. It's a 100% real, authentic album. It's not something I'm trying to sell to nobody. I really think it's going to be a classic. I gave it my all. I think it's going to be a great album with great success.
CX: You mention struggles. Can you elaborate?
SK: What I've been through: me being homeless, my mom leaving me at fourteen, going off to prison, my dad not being there, my sister going to prison, my brother in L.A., getting kicked out of schools, and just little situations that I had growing up as a teen.
CX: And that's all featured on your album?
SK: It motivated me to make a great album and, like I said, everything on the album is 100% authentic. You're going to get to know about me. It's not going to be a fairytale album like "Oh yo! I got a $500,000 watch on. Oh I got 22" rims." It's all feel good music so it's going to be good.
CX: A lot of rappers seem to boast about their past struggles and use them to bring them success. How do you think you'll be able to stay away from the negative aspects of the rap game?
SK: I just feel like that's not me. I just feel like I'm here to please my fans and I'm here to do what I came here to do. I'm not here to do nothing else but make good music and have people connect with me as an artist. So as a new artist, I'm going to stay away from that, even though I am a big fan of hip hop, I am going to stay away from that and travel in my own lane and do what I have to do.
CX: People are saying that hip hop is dead. What needs to be done to have it revitalized? Maybe some new and original flavour?
SK: I really, really agree. I agree 100%. I think there should be something original, some new stuff because like I said, its 2007. The years are going up. And if the years are going up, times are going to be changing; new artists are going to come out with futuristic stuff. So hey, I agree.
CX: You don't swear in your music or make sexist, racist remarks, which is a big part of hip hop. Was that something difficult to stay away from, when making a record that, at its base, is a hip hop record?
SK: I feel like it's not me as an artist. I'm trying to make music that's for everybody. Little kids, grown folks, everybody middle aged. I don't think people want to hear a kid cursing at seventeen years old, cursing on their tracks, and talking about the women. That's just definitely not me. I'm just trying to do my own thing and make everything positive.
CX Now that you have your record deal, your album's out, you've moved past your struggles, at what kind of point in your life are you at right now?:
SK: I'm at a good place. I'm just doing what I have to do. Rise to the top slowly but surely. Make myself connect with the fans and do what I have to do. Just make them happy. This is my dream; this is what I've always wanted to do. Just me being close to it and it being here now, I'm going on with it, and I'm going to make history out of it. I got the number one ring tone in the country right now, so a lot of stuff's going good for me right now.
Type: Interview
Author: Alex Kucharski
With only seventeen years behind him, Sean Kingston is the new generation of music. With his sweet smile and youthful charm, along with his hit single, "Beautiful Girls", Sean Kingston has captured the hearts of girls and the ears of a population. But is he more gangster than people think?
Sean recently spoke to CX to discuss not only his new album, but also his life, and uncovered a few struggles from his past that could make most rappers in the game blush. But that's all behind him. And just like Justin Timberlake bragged last year that he was bringing sexy back, Sean Kingston boasts that he's bringing "feel good music back".
CX: What does it feel like to know that you're making an impact on the music industry?
SK: Man, it feels great. Especially when you know that you're loving what you're doing and you've been wanting to do it since you were young. It feels great. This has been my dream.
CX: You write all your own rhymes. Do you take on any other roles in the studio?
SK: I love how the instruments combine together, how you make beats and stuff. I really like the whole style. I'm tied to a multi-platinum producer, so I might work for him and start producing beats. Who knows?
CX: You were discovered on MySpace, which has carved a whole new niche into the music landscape. How do you think the Internet is progressing in the music scene?
SK: I think the Internet is helping out a lot. I really, really think it's helping out a lot. It changed my life and I'm sure it can change the next artist's life. Back in the day when people sent in demo tapes and CD's, that era is kinda not really there no more. I think it's about who you know, or if you have a buzz in your town, or if VJ's play your record on local stations. And I thought it was a good chance [to use MySpace] and God blessed me where I can hit somebody up on MySpace [J.R. Rotem, music producer] and they replied back and I got a record deal which is so crazy.
CX: What is the ingredient to your success?
SK: What it is, is that I'm humble. I'm Godly; it's all unity and love for me. I write all my music. I just like to write music that people can relate to. I don't curse in my music. I'm just trying to bring feel good music back and I just think that's why I'm where I'm at with "Beautiful Girls". I feel lucky. When you're a new artist and you're new on the scene, you have to be humble, have people respect you first before you can be who you want to be. You just have to push your name out first, have people relate to your music, connect with you as an artist, and that's exactly what I'm doing.
CX: What can people expect if they go out and pick up your album?
SK: If you love "Beautiful Girls" you're gonna love the album. The album is a little bit of everything: reggae, doo-wop, pop, R&B, rap. It's everything "cause I'm good at each one of them. With this album you're gonna get to know me. I'm bringing feel good music back. You're gonna get to know Sean Kingston; you're gonna get to know my struggles; you're gonna get to know what I dream of, where I want to go; you're gonna get to know about me and mom, I have two tracks that I wrote about my mom on the album "cause she's a big part of my life. It's a 100% real, authentic album. It's not something I'm trying to sell to nobody. I really think it's going to be a classic. I gave it my all. I think it's going to be a great album with great success.
CX: You mention struggles. Can you elaborate?
SK: What I've been through: me being homeless, my mom leaving me at fourteen, going off to prison, my dad not being there, my sister going to prison, my brother in L.A., getting kicked out of schools, and just little situations that I had growing up as a teen.
CX: And that's all featured on your album?
SK: It motivated me to make a great album and, like I said, everything on the album is 100% authentic. You're going to get to know about me. It's not going to be a fairytale album like "Oh yo! I got a $500,000 watch on. Oh I got 22" rims." It's all feel good music so it's going to be good.
CX: A lot of rappers seem to boast about their past struggles and use them to bring them success. How do you think you'll be able to stay away from the negative aspects of the rap game?
SK: I just feel like that's not me. I just feel like I'm here to please my fans and I'm here to do what I came here to do. I'm not here to do nothing else but make good music and have people connect with me as an artist. So as a new artist, I'm going to stay away from that, even though I am a big fan of hip hop, I am going to stay away from that and travel in my own lane and do what I have to do.
CX: People are saying that hip hop is dead. What needs to be done to have it revitalized? Maybe some new and original flavour?
SK: I really, really agree. I agree 100%. I think there should be something original, some new stuff because like I said, its 2007. The years are going up. And if the years are going up, times are going to be changing; new artists are going to come out with futuristic stuff. So hey, I agree.
CX: You don't swear in your music or make sexist, racist remarks, which is a big part of hip hop. Was that something difficult to stay away from, when making a record that, at its base, is a hip hop record?
SK: I feel like it's not me as an artist. I'm trying to make music that's for everybody. Little kids, grown folks, everybody middle aged. I don't think people want to hear a kid cursing at seventeen years old, cursing on their tracks, and talking about the women. That's just definitely not me. I'm just trying to do my own thing and make everything positive.
CX Now that you have your record deal, your album's out, you've moved past your struggles, at what kind of point in your life are you at right now?:
SK: I'm at a good place. I'm just doing what I have to do. Rise to the top slowly but surely. Make myself connect with the fans and do what I have to do. Just make them happy. This is my dream; this is what I've always wanted to do. Just me being close to it and it being here now, I'm going on with it, and I'm going to make history out of it. I got the number one ring tone in the country right now, so a lot of stuff's going good for me right now.
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