Footpatrol and Frequent Players bring to you the first act of the Suede Music live performance Kadeem Tyrell!
RnB has always been one of those genres that gets everybody feeling good. For Kadeem though it’s more than a feeling, it is a place for him to strive towards carving his name as one of the UK household RnB artists.
With musical influences being around him throughout his life it was hard for Kadeem not to follow the sounds of music and put his own talent to the test creating his own sound and proving himself to be a future star.
We sat down with Kadeem just after his performance to talk about his story and what made him want to strive to become a RnB artist.
Footpatrol: Welcome to Footpatrol’s music side of the business Frequent Player Kadeem, how are we?
Kadeem Tyrell: I’m very well thank you, I’ve just been trying to stay active during the pandemic and what feels like a never ending lockdown, but through it all I’ve had the chance to really focus on music so much, so to some extent, I’m grateful.
FP: Have you had the chance to do any smaller live performances this year or is this the first?
KD: I’ve actually had the opportunity to really utilise social media, youtube and more this year and do a few live performances. My first time ever using Instagram live was in early April where I held a live performance of my new project which went really well to my surprise.
FP: Could you walk us through your story and how you found yourself getting into music, was this always the dream?
KD: Being a musician wasn’t actually what I was interested in whilst growing up, I never studied music in school, college or university. My interest was always in creativity but it led me to thinking I wanted to be an architect to then a photographer which is what I then went on to study. Half way through the course and with not a lot of people knowing I could sing, I then started to work with a few producers to then give it a try as I enjoyed music too much to just be a listener. After sharing the idea and the music I had written and created with my family and friends it then became my dream simply because of the support and push I got from them, the push and love still remains the same so the push continues.
FP: What about when you were growing up, did your family have much of a musical influence on you?
KD: My mum and her sisters actually sang together in church, my dad still remains a DJ and had a heavy influence in the music I now create. My dad introduced me to the R&B and soul artists that helped shape my sound and my mum with the gospel, Lovers rock and Rare groove artists also, I’m still now being influenced by them if i’m completely honest and my brother that is a producer also teaches me things that I may miss, put me onto artists and more so the influences broadens out to this day.
FP: We spoke briefly before your performance and you mention as you progressed through your career you went from soulful Garage to RnB, where did this transition begin for you?
KD: I’m from south london and grew up in the exact estate So Solid Crew was formed and I grew up loving the sound of garage overall, so it naturally became something I wanted to do. I jumped on the music scene with that being my first shape of sound. I always knew that Soul and R&B was what I wanted to do whole heartedly but I had to get the exact sound right, what kind of R&B I wanted to do etc so it took me till 2018 to really release what has now become a “Kadeem Tyrell Sound” and the transition is still happening.The more I learn about myself and the older I get I learn things about the sound that I like and overall how I can develop as an artist, my sound and my music knowledge.
FP: Were there any artists that you listened to at the time that helped you come to that decision or is your taste pretty open when it comes to inspiration?
KD: There actually were a lot of artists from the UK that actually helped me and without them even knowing, they are also the reason for my sound; Ego Ella May, Shakka, Sasha Keable, Kaleem Taylor and Tawiah to name a few, artists that inspired me to really do UK R&B
FP: By the sounds of the things you have really brought yourself up to have an incredibly hard work ethic towards your music. For those trying to find their footing within their careers do you have any words of wisdom for them?
KD: My favourite sayings are “Have No Fear” and “Just do it” , two sayings I saw daily growing on bags and beanie hats. I constantly tell myself these things and it’s actually helped me get through it, through self doubt and through the toughness of it all.
FP: One of the things I wanted to ask you about was one of your tracks that you played for us, April 25th. What significance does that date have to you?
KD: Craziest thing is that this song has no special connection with the actual date, it was actually produced on April 26th and the file name of the production was saved as that. After listening back to me saying April 25th after it had been written, it felt right to say 25th instead. I wish there was a super cool story connected with it but unfortunately there isn’t haha
FP: It’s been great to finally sit down and chat with you Kadeem, one thing we always ask though as a sign off before we let you go. Is there anything you want to say or share with our readers and listeners?
KD: Thank you so much for having me, please do stream and watch my music journey so far if you’re looking for new music to vibe out to, become a part of the journey with me, enjoy!
