Today we’d like to introduce you to Kinny Summers.
Kinny, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I developed an interest in music as a toddler when I fell in love with sounds & melodies. Any commercial or toy with music in it would make me feel calm & relaxed. I remember having a keyboard on my bedroom floor , It was one of those Yamahas where you could change the instruments. After playing with that keyboard so much, I realized that I was able to play songs by ear. I grew up still loving music and everything about it collecting Michael Jackson records where I would soon be introduced to Hip-hop later on which was very inspiring to me but I still had no resources to record and become an artist. I had an interest in drums I would play a little bit at church on Sundays, and also would sing in the choir at church and school. My older cousin and I finally came up with a clever way to record songs when I was in the 6th grade, we took an mp3 player that had a voice recorder on it and would play instrumentals from albums in the back and rap over it. We would then burn those tracks to CD’s and give them out at school, at that time I would like to say I was quite trash, lol, I ain’t have it yet. I then joined the band in middle school where I stuck around all the way until my first year of high school, I lost interest as I started to take my music career more seriously. At this time I was using anything I could to record music from computer webcam microphones to a computer microphone I bought from target with an old friend of mine. The programs I used to record with back then sucked lol I would also use FL studio to make beats “the demo version’ so I couldn’t save my projects and go back I just had to finish them on the spot. That upcoming Christmas, I asked my parents for a USB condenser microphone. That’s really all I wanted. They were surprised! It was time to get even more serious. I focused more on getting better at my craft, being a better artist. Better mixing and mastering and better all-around production. I started collaborating with local artists in my town that had success after they would recognize the work I was doing. There weren’t social media yet but we could connect using websites like Myspace and uploading music and promotional videos to YouTube. In 2010 I did my first show at a local party with some guys I went to high school with, they made music too and I would record them and collaborate on songs with them. Fast forward later, I learned the ups and downs of the music business and being independent. I continued to build my brand as what it is today, creating my label Supreme Vision Entertainment. I’ve released plenty of music videos, records, albums, produced several artists, & produced movies that I’ve won awards for and more. I’m still not completely where I want to be yet in my career but every day I try to keep that same drive and hunger that made me fall in love with this from the beginning.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it hasn’t been smooth at all, I’m a firm believer that anything worth having is worth the struggle. I’ve lost many friends along the way. It hurts. but sometimes, it’s out of your control. Everyone might not be able to go the same place your going, that’s just life and God’s plan . I’ve also had to deal with not having enough money to support myself and having to make decisions on if I had the faith to even keep going. It’s hard to stay focused when you were on the verge of being homeless and on top of that having two sons that I have to take care of as well. It’s easy to just say, “you know what I quit,” but then I realize that my children are more of my motivation to keep going. I want to have something to pass down to them one day.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a musical artist, I produce & engineer records and also a filmmaker. I think I’m most proud of being an artist because it opens the door for all the other avenues in my career. What sets me apart from others is my ability to be transparent in my work. Also I’m not afraid to take risks. Mostly when I have my mind set to a project, I do any and everything in my power to make my idea come to life.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m very shy when it comes to presenting my work at times, lol. I have to build up the courage to show it, although I may seem like the most confident man in the world sometimes deep inside I’m super nervous and full of anxiety. Mostly before I perform a show or release a project the moments before my anxiety is through the ROOF lol but right after that anxiety goes away and I’m full of excitement and joy. Overall I love being able to touch people with my creativity, it’s the greatest feeling in the world.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinnysummers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KinnySupreme
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kinnysummers
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/kinnysummers
