After 23 years, R&B singer Kem is exiting his hometown’s legendary document label, Motown, to return to being an impartial artist.
Grammy-nominated singer and Michigan native Kem is reviving his impartial label, Kemistry Data, the identical imprint behind his self-funded debut album that made him an area sensation in Detroit within the early 2000s, and finally led to his signing with Motown in 2002. Kem’s departure marks a historic shift in Motown historical past because it’s the primary time the label has no Detroit artist on its roster.
“During the last three to 5 years, I’ve achieved a number of inner soul-searching concerning the seasons of my life — being married, having younger youngsters, desirous about my profession and concerning the sea change within the music trade and content material creation,” he instructed the Detroit Free Press. “With the normal mannequin of doing enterprise, every thing has shifted.”
Kem’s determination comes after years of government turnover and restructuring at Motown Data, together with the 2022 resignation of CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam after only a yr within the position. The label additionally returned to subsidiary standing beneath Capitol Music Group, which led to a wave of layoffs.
All through the shakeups, Kem remained affected person because the West Coast-based label underwent main modifications.
“We’ll wait ‘til the mud settles,” Kem stated. “However what if the mud by no means settles?”
Motown signed Kem after the grassroots success of his self-funded debut album, Kemistry—an effort he financed utilizing his American Categorical card whereas performing High 40 covers in a marriage band and ready tables. Throughout his time with the label, Kem launched 5 albums, together with a re-release of Kemistry (licensed Gold), Album II (licensed Platinum), and Intimacy: Album III (licensed Gold).
Nonetheless, after over 20 years with the long-lasting label, Kem says the shifts inside Motown pushed him to depart and return to his impartial roots.
“I had an exquisite relationship with Motown,” he stated. “However the Motown I signed to, and the Motown that exists now, usually are not the identical. That’s not a unfavorable factor. However the trade has modified, and possibly I ought to change too.”
Although no stranger to independence, Kem acknowledges that evolving trade developments and tech shifts demand a contemporary strategy. In response, he’s assembled a devoted in-house group masking advertising, media relations, authorized, and live performance bookings. He’ll keep full possession of his future grasp recordings and launch music on his personal schedule—beginning together with his upcoming single “Give My Love,” which he describes as having an Afrobeat groove with a “Sade-esque vibe.”
“It’s a return to the love of how I wish to make music and have interaction with my followers,” Kem stated. “This is a chance for me to place out music, to manage my content material, to maneuver extra freely, and have extra fairness in myself. Let me deliver all of this residence.”
Followers can catch the newly impartial Kem dwell throughout his two-night homecoming efficiency at Detroit’s Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre on July 25 and 26. Tickets are on sale now. Followers can discover extra info on Kem’s new music on his revamped web site MusicByKem.com.
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