My Song 5 13

Song 6 9

Dilla's music hit my heart at first listen. I first heard "Players" on the radio in a "Pump It Or Dump It" segment on public radio. "Players" was the clear winner within 30 seconds for me and by the votes tallied by callers at the end of the segment. I don't recall what the competing track was. 

I spent a few years prior to Dilla's death deep-diving into his music with the intention of putting together a suite of songs written to his beats to submit to him. I had no idea of his illness at the time. My music partner, Jason Williams, and I were putting final touches on tracks when we heard of his untimely death. Devastation doesn't fully explain our reaction.

This three-track suite scratches the surface of what we were working on. I intend to add to this over time. What's dope about all of these songs are how quickly the muses came for these. Melodies were almost instantaneous and lyrics were no struggle. I love these jolnts with all my heart and hope you enjoy them as they are my gift to a producer that impacted my life (and many others)forever. Enjoy!

I Don't Want To Be Alone

Recording Session 4/22/06

My Days

Can I Get To Know You?

These songs are vintage Kim Calvert - real talk! Around 2000, I connected with one of my best friends from high school (affectionally known as Dub) and a group of friends he made while at Hampton University that had formed a production team. The actual music producer was a brother named Geoff Gillis (Intratecque) with whom I collaborated before this amazing digital age we live in now. He sent me CD's with beats and I wrote to them.

It wasn't long before those young men thought what we were creating was ready for actual studio time, and we all converged for a weekend in ATL and recorded in the basement studio of an older producer/engineer named Sam. These tracks of some of the fruit of that labor. I remember us all sitting in the car after the first session and listening to "This Love Affair". The energy was electric - filled with the optimism of youth and fearlessness. We felt we had something special. 

Despite the way technology has altered how we communicate, and lyrically these songs pre-date social media, these tracks still hold up. I love listening to them because it reminds me of when I first fell in love with this craft. Also the strength (sometimes overwhelmingly so)of my younger voice makes me smile - you couldn't tell me a thing while in that studio. It was LIFE itself. 

Enjoy!

Expiration Date

This Love Affair

This playlist is a living document as there is so much material to rediscover and upload, it's bananas. 

Jason Jarvel and I had an immediate synergy as a production and songwriting duo. In 1999, we were neighbors and by accident discovered our shared love of music after my roommate and I ran into his apartment trying to flee from a burglar breaking in ours. From about 2001-2010, we made so many songs, we've lost count. We were starving artists for sure at the time, and at the pace we were going there was no budget for studio time so these tracks were the product of Jason's MacBook and learned GarageBand skills and a stocking-covered microphone in my kitchen. Some beats are straight up J playing with Apple Loops or me asking him to sample something and throw a drum underneath it. Simple, but effective.

Jason and I BREATHED music together. There were weeks where we would we be in our homemade studio, day after day, hour after hour working on material. Jason is a mad genius - the type of producer that has a slew of new material every time you see him. He's a songwriter's dream companion in that sense - he's going to have something that sparks a note or a lyric. 

I must note that the Dilla Suite was created during this time so is also technically a part of this playlist. I look forward to building this playlist slowly and methodically as I comb through CD's and MP3 files. Jason and I together definitely created a vibe - listen and enjoy.

Me & You

Catching Feelings

This playlist is another one that is alive and well, a proverbial rabbit hole of tracks that I will continue to add to, but I am capping it at 2018 regarding year of creation. I have friends that have asked for hooks or who have sent me beats for inspiration and when the muse hits, I write. This is a compilation of those tracks - bear with me as I add credits to each song.

Song 6 9

usCAPE

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