All Photos: Alan Mercer
The music of Grammy-nominated Singer/Songwriter Kenny Lattimore reflects the best of all worlds because he combines the timeless sounds of traditional R&B with his own unique contemporary flair to create a universal sound that transcends boundaries and appeals to audiences of all ages, races and genres. His body of work, which includes hits such as ‘Never Too Busy’ and the Grammy-nominated ‘For You,’ has garnered two Gold-selling albums, the NAACP Image Award For Best New Artist as well as nominations from The Soul Train and Stellar Awards.
The music of Kenny Lattimore powerfully connects with the hearts of women and the minds of men. Considered a “Modern Soul Man” by the New York Times, Kenny has received rave reviews for his dramatic stage shows, musical sensuality and a vocal agility perfectly coupled with a compelling subtlety. He performed the duet ‘Love Will Find A Way’ With Heather Headley that was featured in ‘The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.’ He And Chanté Moore recorded the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell Duet ‘You’re All I Need To Get By’ that was chosen as the theme song for the BET show, ‘The Family Crews.’
Much Like John Legend, Lionel Richie, Frank Sinatra And Aaron Neville, his artistically respected music defies categorization and attracts racially mixed audiences in widely varied settings, such as Jazz Festivals, Adult Contemporary Events, R&B Tours and All-American Musical Gatherings. He is currently completing a new album and preparing for a world tour.
His charismatic personality and powerful presence have also made him an in-demand actor of film, stage and screen and a captivating motivational speaker. He has appeared in movies such as ‘The Seat Filler’ and The Kim Fields-Directed ‘Holiday Love’ and The Gospel Music Channel’s ‘A Cross To Bear.’ His Television credits include ‘The Young And The Restless,’ ‘Moesha,’ ‘The Parkers’ and ‘Abby.’ In his theatrical journey, he has starred alongside reality sensation NeNe Leakes, singer Angie Stone and supermodel Tyson Beckford in the hit play, ‘Loving Him Is Killing Me.’ He joined Vanessa Bell Calloway, Dorien Wilson and Jackee in The Don B. Welch productions of ‘Heavenbound’ and ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.’
The single father combines movie-star good looks with a strong sense of family and responsibility. He’s a positive role model for young men of all races and is dedicated to using his life and platform as a tool to inspire others to pursue excellence and focus on the right priorities in life. He is committed to elevating the conversation about art, culture, family and faith.
He is driven by a mission to show the "Strong, But Sensitive And Caring Side Of Black Men." It is a message that isn’t just needed for black men, but for all men who are receiving a barrage of mixed messages in today’s society.
In 2009, he was the spokesman for the ASHE Foundation, which provides shoes and basic necessities to African children. In 2011, he established ‘The Kenny Lattimore Foundation’ to transform the lives of young people through mentoring, education and the Arts. He supports ‘The United Negro College Fund’ and participated in The 2011 UNCF Empower Me Tour.
His love and music and philosophies of faith and positivity were instilled during his childhood in Washington, D.C., where he grew up singing in the church and talent shows and studying classical and chamber music. He won The Honor Of Maryland Distinguished Scholar For Performing Arts and then studied architecture and planning at Howard University. While in college, he joined the group ‘Maniquin,’ which was signed to Epic Records.
He launched a solo career with The 1996 Columbia Records self-titled album that contained the hits ‘Never Too Busy’ and ‘For You,’ which remains a staple at weddings around the world. The album achieved Gold Status and an ‘NAACP Image Award’ for Best New Artist. Next came the 1998 popular album, ‘From The Soul Of Man,’ another gold-certified album that received critical acclaim for its classical styling on hits such as ‘Days Like This’ and ‘If I Lose My Woman.’ He received tremendous praise for his cover of George Harrison’s ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’
Legendary Music Mogul Clive Davis signed him To Arista Records, where he unveiled a more contemporary sound on the 2001 album, ‘Weekend.’ The title track became an international hit. Two years later, he recorded the duets album, ‘Things That Lovers Do’ with his then-wife Chante’ Moore that contained the hits, ‘Loveable (From Your Head To Your Toes)’ and ‘You Don’t Have To Cry.’ They followed that with the double-CD duets album of Gospel And R&B love songs called ‘Uncovered/Covered’ that spawned hits such as ‘Figure It Out’ and ‘Make Me Like The Moon.’ The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Gospel Albums Chart and No. 10 On The Billboard R&B Albums Chart.
In 2008, Kenny released ‘Timeless,’ a Verve Records cover album that offered new interpretations of classic songs originally recorded by The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Al Green, Donny Hathaway and others. He has continued to show depth and growth as a recording artist, producer and songwriter.
He launched his own label, SincereSoul Records, in 2012 and is preparing to release his new album in 2014. He has earned the reputation as one of today’s Premier Male Vocalists, as well as a compelling songwriter who passionately explores universal themes and truths in a fresh new way. He makes music from his heart that feeds his listeners’ souls both lyrically and melodically. His music offers a much-needed oasis of depth and substance in a world that is hungry for both.
AM: Kenny your ‘Soul of a Man’ CD is one of the best R&B albums of all time.
KL: Thank you, it’s strange that the record company did not understand that album. Thank God it still sold, but it was never celebrated. ‘USA Today’ made it one of their Top Ten Albums that year but the label still just let it go.
AM: That must have been difficult to understand.
KL: I understood because they were excited about the Lauren Hill album that year. That’s the way it is when you are with a major label. They decide who they are going to promote and leave the rest to fend for themselves.
AM: Well now is the best time for success anyway.
KL: I agree. I feel like I know what to do with success now. Now I have an eleven year old son and my life has gone through so many transitions. I feel very grown and experienced. I feel like whatever success I am blessed with from this point on will be lasting.
AM: I know you have new music coming out this year. What is the title of your upcoming release?
KL: The title is ‘Being One.’ The people who have been listening to my music for years know the message is always positive about ‘being one’ with someone else. The only way to be really strong at ‘being one’ with someone else is to be whole within yourself. This is an exploration of ‘being one’ by myself since I’m single again.
AM: Another challenge is to go through a divorce in the public eye.
KL: The public has seen me go through a lot so I’m healing from all of that. I’m still talking about what I believe.
AM: I like that you sing about love in most of your songs.
KL: Love will always be synonymous with R&B and Pop music. You have to take the proper steps to give what you didn’t get. That’s the kind of love it takes to be one. This is the kind of love I want to exude in my music and in my life. That is what’s authentic to me. I’ve been thinking about my community more. It’s not all about me.
AM: Thinking about the bigger picture is the way to learn more about yourself too.
KL: One of the most incredible things I have found is when you are going through hard times, if you give your time and energy to influencing someone’s life in a positive way, you find yourself.
AM: Exactly!
KL: This is about being one with the world. We live in a super global society with all this technology now. There is so much information that we tend to feel we are not a part of it all, but we are. God has allowed me to go through some things in the past few years, like running my own business and losing a lot.
AM: That must have been very difficult.
KL: This is not something people like to talk about. I’ve lost a lot of money transitioning my life and re-establishing myself. I’ve had to start my entire life all over again. I’ve lived very close to the edge rebuilding my life. In the past year I’ve grown to understand what living from month to month is. It’s given me more respect for people. Now my music has taken on a deeper meaning and purpose for me to go out there and share love.
AM: I like the way you make the effort to be proactive, inspirational and influence others in a positive way on social media and in your music.
KL: I grew up in the church. I wanted to be like Bebe and Cece Winans. A lot of people don’t know that because when I started out in the business there was such a strong emphasis on me being a sex symbol and how I looked. That was great but I didn’t feel that way on the inside.
AM: You didn’t relate to being a sex symbol?
KL: I was never fascinated with that and I never looked at myself that way. I couldn’t authentically walk in that. I wanted to keep the message strong and for my grandmother to be proud of me. I wanted to be able to sing the gospel and not get people confused.
AM: Did you have to open your mind outside the church?
KL: I think my influences taught me correctly. I’m going to separate the church from true Christianity. I think about who Jesus Christ is and how he gave to people and how he didn’t judge people even though he was judged because he was with people that other religious folks thought he shouldn’t be with. Jesus was about understanding and influencing the souls of people. There wasn’t this negativity that exists so heavily today.
AM: I think people lose out because they are too judgmental at times.
KL: It takes effort to be at one where you keep a certain perspective of yourself. Sometimes people put in the effort and they do things ritualistically. That’s what I think religion is a lot of the time. People want a certain image. I often think, is that who you really are?
AM: I think people are born the way they are and you were just born a decent person.
KL: It’s hard because the same temptations come but now I think about the consequences of everything. What I do now is going to reflect on my son.
AM: Your son was born on your birthday!
KL: His Mom had a C-section and I remember the doctors telling us they were very sorry but they didn’t have any choices they could give us for a birth date. The only day they had available was April 10. (Laughter) I told them I was cool with it but I would have felt really corny if I had asked them for that date.
AM: Well it was meant to be then. Is he a lot like you?
KL: In some ways, yes. He started out that way but now I see his Mom’s personality too.
AM: Is he a singer?
KL: He can sing and he wants to be an entertainer. He likes to act too. He does all the Christmas plays at his Mom’s church and he likes to take dance classes. As he gets older and really commits to it I can see him being a part of some really great circles that would help him perfect his talent.
AM: I know you’ll be a supportive father.
KL: I just don’t want to be overbearing like a Soccer Mom or Dad.
AM: I hope we get to see some more live performance videos of you.
KL: Thank you. I had to really get my team together. We have a lot coming up. For years I found myself surrounded by good people but they didn’t always understand how to propel me to the next level. They didn’t always have vision, but my new manager, Michelle Tafoya has been really phenomenal. She’s worked with Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond and Lionel Richie, so I know she has a vision for me.
AM: I think you are going to just keep getting better and better.
KL: Thank you, I feel better. I feel like I was a good singer and a good recording artist when I started but I was trying to find out who I was. As much as I was clear on my messages, I wasn’t as clear on my approach and how I wanted to present myself. Now I’m very comfortable in my skin and I’m comfortable with my voice and my body. Singing is a physical thing. I give a lot more. I know how to emphasis the emotion of a song more effectively now.
To learn more about Kenny Lattimore visit his web site http://www.kennylattimore.com/