“My father would travel, preaching in the streets, and I would be his right hand man, his musician. He would preach wherever people would listen to him, and I was always there. That’s where I learned to play music. The training I was getting then would see me through for the rest of my life.”
Despite having such an early grounding in performance, and having established a work ethic at such a young age, it has never felt to Joe that he is working a job. “Truly man, I’m just having so much fun doing this,” he says. “When I was a kid, I didn’t have dreams of seeking fame and fortune or accolades – all I knew was that I loved music, and I wanted to have the kind of life where I would get to be around it.
There’s a lot to be said for following your dreams. As is often the case, when you’re on the right track, incredible things can happen. True, agrees Joe: “I would say one of my proudest moments was recording with Mariah Carey. I’d had some number one records, but I’d never gotten to the point where I felt like I’d really become successful in my mind. Working with her, I really felt like I’d made it.”
It might be that Joe now considers himself on the same par as some of the other artists he admires: “I love Chris Brown,” says Joe. “I look at Chris as today’s Michael Jackson. He gives this generation what Michael gave us back in the day. Trey Songz is cool – he’s a crooner, with a little bit of Marvin Gaye sensibility. I like Kanye. There are not a lot of creative souls like him – he says what’s on his mind, to the point of being almost offensive – I think he’s one of those guys who really matters in music today.”
Confronted with the game-changer that is Kayne Joe does admit to being a little more traditional with his compositions. “I’m staying true to form. I don’t want to ride that wave – everyone is doing it, from Usher to Ne-Yo, whoever can. It’s cool, it puts food on the table, but I want to keep my music true to that real r’n’b sound.”
Sure enough, his new album, The Good, The Bad, The Sexy, is coming out next month.
“It’s just like the title says, man. There are songs that fall into all three categories. One of the ‘sexy’ songs is called Pull My Hair, and there’s a ‘good’ song called Slow Kisses. These songs are really inspired by how relationships go; they’re very sensual overall. I worked with some great producers and collaborators. It’s the kind of music that the ladies want and the fellas can appreciate.
