Breaking tradition requires a lot of familiarity with the past, and always carrying a piece of it once all is said and done. Kenny Jay plans on keeping the Bachata music he was raised with and loved in his pocket as he blazes his own path. Raised in Washington Heights and being a Dominican himself, Kenny was already immersed into the culture from the get go. With Dominican custom being one of quickly accustoming yourself to your surroundings, Kenny was able to soak in what was around him and learn from immediate family and neighbors who became family alike, “I’m surrounded by many artists and singers and I was just following their lead.” From there he was able to jump into the world of dance, already having been egged on by family members, he was able to carve out a role as a dancer for Bachata group Xtreme, citing the personal relationship as one of the great motivators as he began his process.
Although starting off was no easy feat without any traditional training “I didn’t take my first vocal class up until my fourth year singing, I taught myself how to play keyboard in order to sing.” Once he began taking these extra steps and getting the help he needed, the next step in progressing as a writer was doing what he felt he flourished at, as he began writing poetry at age 12, even doing fellow students poetry homework here and there. “I didn’t feel comfortable communicating with people but I was big on expressing my emotions and I felt writing a poem was the best way of expressing myself.” And communicating such dreams is no easy feat, which he learned the first time he told his mother he was an aspiring singer to which she reacted “wow, ahora Kenny es un Bachatero”(basic translation to wow, now this for all the english speakers). However, growth can only be attained the hard way as Kenny Admittedly a student by method of trial by error, Kenny’s walk as a writer began at the age of 17 and took him to study music at City College of New York where he learned more about structuring his music.
Along the way, Kenny, a personable man and empath by nature began assisting special needs students. Having gained wisdom from a few different walks of life, he is able to preach patience and dedication to students who may not see examples of those things in their day to day life once they leave the classroom. “I remind them everyday that dreams are not impossible to accomplish, and it isn’t necessary to shut down dreams in order to accomplish other goals in life.” On top of being a role model for these students, Kenny is also a huge advocate to place more artistic programs and courses in the school curriculum. Such advocacy and leadership as a role model has garnered him acclaim from students that he hasn’t personally interacted with. “I try being the role model that many of them don’t have in the sense that too many people are unhappy because they stopped following their dreams, to be the example that that’s not what life is.”
Adopting the mindset as an abbott to those who may be stumbling on their own path has also brought Kenny an awakening to his own capabilities as well as his individuality. “I want to be the person that helps the next person understand that there are better things.” One method of execution that he plans on exercising this by is helping people understand the spiritual aspect of it. That their connections to greater resources and talents are already within. It’s already a method he is slowly integrating into his own song creating process and he believes it could be a great benefit to the greater masses although he does understand the hesitancy that may hold a lot of people up from taking the initial jump. “Many times it’s just misconceived, and even more we may have different terms for it and that’s why some people brush it off.”
However Kenny has always recognized his inner voice and knows he was born to be different, recognizing he has his own story to tell in a way and a vision of how it needs to sound. And despite failure having encountered him along his path, success has found him equally as much, allowing him to keep his eyes onward and upward. With all that talent does come an additional pressure to continue performing and putting out music at a high level, especially coming off some buzz from a major stage performance of his latest single Walk With Me. “I feel that I’m at the stage where I need to be and my expectations are higher and greater, but because I’ve already done so much, I know I have that right to expect more.”
Bringing more is exactly what Kenny plans on doing, working on his debut album is the first thing on the list, on top of more live performances and experiences in his craft. Kenny has already come a long way from being a back up dancer to breaking out as an emerging voice in an industry that is already cut throat, as well as a genre that’s extremely refined and marginal. Yet, those are all rules and parameters Kenny no longer subscribes too, flowing in between Spanish and English on Bachata tracks with comfort and poise. Having already lived in the scene and seeing it with his own two eyes, Kenny knows his dream will come true, in his own way at that, and he’s teaching others that theirs can too along the way.
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Take a listen to both of Kenny’s strong debut singles Sé and Walk With Me
Stay in touch with Kenny on all Facebook and Twitter via @RealKennyJay
