Artist Feature: P.Keys
Paul “P.keys” Kim has been producing music for more than 7 years and it’s unfortunate more people don’t know about him. His creativity and originality shines through whether it’s a cover song or his original music. The soulful honesty in his lyrics will draw you in while the hard-work he and his team puts in will have you coming back. Listeners are constantly complaining how watered down r&b is- from superficial relationships to unrealistic situations of romance or lack thereof. To real r&b fans and those who want more out of the radio, I recommend P.keys. He is is one of those artist helping bring the good stuff back by not just speaking about it, but singing it into fruition.
My first experience with P.keys is his 2011 “You Left me for That” several years ago. A recommendation courtesy of YouTube via his friend David So, a multi-talented YouTuber from LA I had found earlier that year. I already had the standard experience with cover-singers that mimicked the original. Though impressive,it generally gets tiresome. So I wasn’t expecting much with P.Keys even after enjoying his original song. I would soon be proven very wrong. He puts such a personal twist on the classics, I found myself checking-in on him more than most. From self-composing melodies that best fits his voice, to fluidly remixing 2-3 songs together before it was trendy. He takes his time with the compositions that gives the listener a chance to take-in his vocals, which is an emotions-filled soprano with a sweet & sensual falsetto that makes many guess where its’ even been hiding.
P.keys works diligently to improve his singing skills and it shows with every cover. Because of that, it’s hard to pick my ultimate favorite cover. Even when I do not have a personal attachment with a song, I find myself not only playing them back multiple times, but also having a new appreciation for the original. The delicate play between the original and his teams composing makes his covers hard to resist. Some of my personal favorites are “Where I Wanna Be” (Donell Jones) w/David So, “Let Me Love You” (Mario), “Sweet Lady” (Tyrese) with singer/producer Z.Woods, “Stay(with Me)” (Sam Smith/Rihanna) w/Jason Chen, and “Pillowtalk”(Zayn Malik). For viewers unfamiliar with South Korean artists, I highly suggest P.keys’ “Fxxk It” (Bigbang) remix w/Jason Chen. He incorporates rapping into the remix which further proves his versatility. No mention of him rapping on his future album unfortunately. I’m sure fans would love to hear more.
Like many great artists, the desire to create something original and produce an album has been a longtime goal for P.Keys. What’s unfortunate for some cover-singers is their fans resistance to moving-on to the singers original content. And that’s not the fault of the singer. Fans like attaching themselves to what’s familiar and easy. One reason mainstream radio has been dwindling down to the same old same. Relying on trends to support the market. Luckily for P.keys, his experience as a cover-singer is one of his strengths. His whole teams hard-work and creativity has helped him release original music over 8 years that encompasses what he and others preach about “good music”.
His commitment to good music shows from “Hero”, “Outta My Head”, to “Baggage”, “No Damn Good”, “Automatic” & “Drunk” for his 2015 album “My Word”. P.keys further proves he’s not just a clever cover-artist building off the backs of established singers with his 2016 announcement of his upcoming ep. You can listen to “Safehouse”,“ Teach Me” and “Vibe With Me“. They are a telling sign of his growth as a vocalist, songwriter and producer. By effectively experimenting with old and new sounds w/o making it feel dated. You can purchase “My Word” HERE, HERE; and the latest singles under “P.keys”.
I always enjoy seeing an artist go outside their element and challenge themselves while fans get to see how they can adapt to different styles. When P.keys isn’t making music for himself, you can find him collaborating on other artist projects like 2013′s “No Turning Back” with LA rapper Dumbfoundead. It’s a special record produced by legendary Chops for his “Strength in Numbers” project. One of my top favorites from each of these creatives. Additionally, P.keys has lent his talents for “Roll With Me” by Kero One, “Chasing Us” by Gowe, “Make Believe” by Baiyu, and “Bestfriend” by etikid.
You can keep up with P.Keys through his social media and music apps while we await for his newest ep:
Spotify
Youtube
Soundcloud
*Image rights to Paul “P.Keys” Kim
*Pub 2/7/2018
