Michael Keith (Formerly 112) Interview

Hardworking and passionate, since then his untimely departure from Atlanta Georgia based RnB quartet 112, Michael Keith has been working on his career as a solo artist. Promising to offer the same high standard RnB that fans worldwide came to associate with 112, but with an added hint of individuality that couldn’t be accessed before, Michael has now released his debut album.
Ambitious Heights caught up with Michael to talk about his self-entitled debut album, leaving 112 and being a rock slut!

1. For those that don’t know, how did 112 come about?

Michael Keith: We all lived in the same neighbourhood growing up and we went to the same school and realised we had a natural connection and an affinity for music. We started building our name doing talent shows in Atlanta Georgia and winning them, and we finally met our manager who introduced us to Puff and we became 112 at that point.

2. How did 112 sign to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Bad Boy record label?

Michael Keith: Basically Puffy gave us an opportunity that nobody else was willing to give us at the time. Puff was serious about 112 and wanted to sign us as soon as we met him, so we were ready to rock and roll.

3. If you had never became an RnB singer is there another career path that you would have followed?

Michael Keith: I’d probably be out selling drugs. It’s that real. The people that grew up in my neighbourhood didn’t really have too many options, you either played sports, you were a musician, you tried to rhyme or you sold dope. I was fortunate enough to have people that believed in me.

4. Do you think Obama’s appointment will change that, and present more opportunities for the unfortunate?

Michael Keith: Absolutely, I feel like him being the President has opened up a lot of people’s minds and hearts. The mind set over here in the States is that we were always second class citizens and now for the first time it’s like we can say ‘I’m a part of this country’. It really speaks volumes to the nation about how well we have evolved as a whole. I’m very proud as an African American because we’re more than just rappers, we’re more than just athletes, we’re more than just singers, we’re also politicians, we’re also leaders, we’re just as much a part of this world as anybody else.

5. I read that you have an operatic musical background, what is the story behind this?

Michael Keith: The story behind that is really crazy, like I said I grew up in one of the worst areas of Atlanta Georgia and I grew up in one of the hardest schools in the district, so opera is the last thing that anybody would have thought would have come out of a kid from there. But I used to watch Tom and Jerry as a child and they always used to have operatic songs in the background so I’d always sing it. One day when I was singing in school, my music teacher who was operatically trained pulled me aside and she wanted me to start training under her. I tried everything I could to avoid her, because I wasn’t ready for the backlash I’d get from my homeboys but she made sure I didn’t waste my potential.

6. Do you feel that this has influenced your music throughout the years?

Michael Keith: Yeah, I mean I always loved listening to classical music growing up, but I just never thought I could apply it to anything. I have a song on my album entitled ‘Off Up In His Bedroom’ and if you listen to it, you’ll hear that its very operatic and that’s all me, it’s not a sample, it’s not Pavarotti, it’s all me, and it’s definitely influenced the music.

7. Which artists inspired you?

Michael Keith: Kurt Cobaine from Nirvana. In terms of RnB it’d be pretty much the ones that everyone says, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, James Brown, Michael Jackson, but I think my writing style, ability to sign and my production skills started from the rock side of things. I’m such a dichotomy it’s ridiculous, because I sing RnB and I have a real soulful, gospel voice, but I grew up listening to rock music.

8. So what stopped you from becoming a rock singer?

Michael Keith: My colour. There’s only one Lenny Kravitz man, you know what I mean. We haven’t evolved enough in my opinion to expand on that type of music though it’s getting better. I definitely want to expand and be more of a universal artist, so if that means being called rock or pop I have no problems with that.

9. Do you have a favourite 112 song?

Michael Keith: I would have to say Cupid is my favourite 112 song.

10. 112 is often directly compared to Jagged Edge, what do you think of this comparison?

Michael Keith: They were fair comparisons because Jagged Edge and 112 at the time were the only groups that were out there doing something and we pretty much grew up around each other. I respect their craft and they put some great records out there, but if I had to choose between 112 and Jagged Edge I would say 112 all day long.

11. You left 112 in 2007, now I must ask, there was a rumour about a publishing cheque, can you tell me about that?

Michael Keith: Yeah absolutely. One of the main reasons why I had to leave and go do my own solo thing was because there were some discrepancies about a publishing cheque that was meant for Slim and myself. Basically Daron and Q felt like they were entitled to more of the money. Overall I felt like we had done so much as a unit that there shouldn’t have been a discrepancy with the cheque to begin with!

12. So what made them think they had more rights to it?

Michael Keith: In the beginning under the philosophy that neither one of us would be where we were if it wasn’t for the other person we would split everything four ways, regardless of who did what and we signed a contract to this effect. In the beginning when everything was even keel it was cool. But once everyone started branching off and doing songs outside of the group and producing outside of the group that’s when the discrepancy started.

13. Are there any plans to get back together for a follow up album to Pleasure and Pain?

Michael Keith: I’m going to be honest with you and say I’ve grown and lived long enough to never say never, so if that was to happen in the future I will welcome it under the right circumstances. I never felt like we had accomplished all that we could have, but right now I’m so focused on my solo project and everybody else, from what I know is focusing on theirs, so I don’t see it happening in the near future.

14. Other members of the band are also working on solo projects, would you ever consider collaborating with any of them in the future?

Michael Keith: Absolutely! Like I said this is a business and one of the main things that prohibits us from being like Bill Gates or Donald Trump is that we have an inability to work with somebody that we may disagree with. I have a tonne of disagreements with Daron, Q and Slim, but I can look past all that as a businessman to talk about what’s going to make the 112 brand and our solo projects bigger and better. I can definitely see myself working with the others, but it’s a four-way street.

15. You recently released your debut solo album, what can we expect from it?

Michael Keith: You can expect pretty much my soul and pretty much everything I’ve wanted to say for the past 13 years as a member of 112 and as a solo artist. This is something which is from the heart. My album is basically an album full of questions that I feel we as a people are too afraid to talk about, like why does love hurt or why is it that I love a girl who is promiscuous. Then I have a song on my album entitled ‘Father’ that Daron helped me to write, and I’m talking about the fact that like so many people I grew up without a father. So if anything I feel like the album could be a learning tool for people who have the same kind of questions that I have had through my life, because despite the fact that I’ve been successful, I still go through the same issues as everybody else.

16. Are there any tracks that you particularly like from the album?

Michael Keith: Each one of the songs represents me at a particular point in my life. So the first song is an emotion, the second song is an emotion and so on. So tomorrow you might ask me which is my favourite and I would say ‘Love’ and then the next day I’d say ‘Off Up In His Bedroom’ because that would be how I was feeling at that time. The album only has 11 songs for the specific reason that I didn’t want to extend on who I really was to just try and sell a record, but there is so much depth to it.

17. How have you found being on an independent label?

Michael Keith: It’s fun. I have more creative freedom, I know exactly where my money is going when it’s sent out which is definitely a good thing and I don’t have to go through the middle man. I don’t have to go through the A & R, I don’t have to listen to this executive and that executive, I am the executive along with my manager/ label head Carlo Farina, and so we just do what we feel.

18. Has the response to your debut album been what you expected?

Michael Keith: It’s been more than what I expected. I actually thought I was going to get more of a mixed review about the album, but from all the reviews that I got about the album, everybody loves it. I haven’t got one negative review, so I’m just really excited. The more I do interviews and radio the more people are going to hear about this album, so I’m really proud of myself.

19. How are you finding being a solo artist?

Michael Keith: Its weird, because if something goes wrong, its my fault, I can’t blame it on somebody else, but at the same time if everything is successful then that’s me too. For years I have been saying that I need to figure out who I am as a musician and becoming a solo artist has really given me that freedom.

20. How is your style as a solo artist different to 112’s style?

Michael Keith: Well I’m singing more! I think that’s the biggest difference. I’m a lot freer as Michael Keith as opposed to Mike from 112. I’ve introduced rock and operatic themes into my album which are genres I really enjoyed growing up but I couldn’t really experiment with them in 112 because we had a particular sound that people were accustomed to.

21. Describe Michael Keith’s musical style in three words?

Michael Keith: Soulful, eclectic and legendary.

22.What inspires your music & lyrics?

Michael Keith: I’m a big rock music dude. Since my first introduction to Nirvana in 1991 I’ve been a total rock slut. I just love the freedom that those guys portray in their music. We have so many confines in the RnB world, where you can only talk about love or how fly your clothes are.

23. What do you think of the state of RnB today?

Michael Keith: With the exception of maybe Kanye, Will-i-am and Timbaland, everybody else is just cookie cutter and it drives me crazy because we are so much more brilliant and so much more evolved than we are portrayed. As artists, we’re stuck in a catch 22 because the record labels want you to be an artist that sounds like everybody else, and being the ones that hold the cheques, artists pretty much have to do as they say. This was something that I had a real issue with because 112 had always been at the forefront of music and I just can’t see myself being anything else other than a trendsetter.

24. Back when Bad Boy came out, were there as many rules then?

Michael Keith: We had a lot more freedom as opposed to what’s going on with Bad Boy right now, because we were all just learning as we went along, and everybody started from the ground up. There are a lot more opportunities now, but there was a lot more freedom back then because everyone was just grinding. Now we can’t really give the new cats the freedom that we had because their coming into a situation that’s already built.

25. Are you familiar with any British artists that you like the sound of?

Michael Keith: I’m familiar with Dido, I love Dido. Everyone is familiar with Amy Whinehouse. I’m a big Sting fan because I’m old school. I’m a fan of Craig David, I loved his first album, and then Floetry. Them girls are incredible, I’ve seen them live and oh my God. Also I have to mention Oasis and Coldplay.

26. What’s next on the agenda for you?

Michael Keith: Just making sure that the world understands that Michael Keith is here to stay. You know how 112 did it and with me you can’t expect anything else.

27. Would you ever consider managing your own band?

Michael Keith: No. 112 was a special breed. A situation like that only comes around once in a lifetime for an individual, and there will never be another 112, or another New Edition, Boyz II Men or Jodeci. So as far as I’m concerned I couldn’t do it because if they couldn’t do a tenth of what we were able to do, then I’d be disappointed. I’m always going to have what we achieved as my bar and if you can’t live up to that then I can’t work with you.

Visit http://www.michaelkeithonline.com/ to buy a copy of Michael’s debut album.

Words by Susanne Singh