Kevin Cossom Interview

DJ Booth:  What’s goin’ on everybody?  It’s your boy “Z,” doin’ it real big, and joining me inside the DJ Booth is an upstart singer/songwriter whose work behind the scenes you might not be familiar with.  Please welcome my main man, singer/songwriter Kevin Cossom—how you doin’?

Kevin Cossom:  What’s up, Z?  I’m good.

DJ Booth:  Thank you for joinin’ me.  How is it out in Orlando?  Is that where I’m currently talking to you from?

Kevin Cossom:  I’m currently in L.A. right now.

DJ Booth:  So if it’s not one warm climate it’s the other, right?

Kevin Cossom:  It’s the next! [laughs]

DJ Booth:  You know what I’m goin’ through in Chicago?  It’s been a terrible winter.  But people are sick and tired of me complaining about the weather, so we’re gonna complete change subjects.  On your new buzz record, “You’re a Star (You Know What You’re Doin’),” you revealed that you were sick and tired of people misspelling your last name.  This is something I’m familiar with, and that’s why I shortened it up to just ‘Z.’  So, let everyone know once and for all how to spell your last name.

Kevin Cossom:  You spell it “C-O-S-S-O-M.”  Most people think it’s a ‘u,’ ‘Cossum,” but it’s with two ‘o’s.

DJ Booth:  After the fourth or fifth time that you read or heard someone spell it wrong, did you say, “You know what?  Forget about it—I’m just gonna go with ‘K.C.,’ no more ‘Kevin Cossom?’”

Kevin Cossom:  Well, I went with “K.C.” for a while, since I’ve had that nickname probably since I was 14 or 15.  [It’s] not only people in the industry or, paperwork and stuff—even when I was younger, people would say the name wrong.  They would say “Coesum” if they read it or “Coozum,” so we just shortened it up to “K.C.”  But I think it’s a name that, you remember it once you get it down.  I don’t know anybody else with that last name, except for the people in my family.  It’s a pretty unique name, and it’s one-of-a-kind, so it’s pretty easy once you think about it: “C-O-S-S-O-M,” like “Blossom,” but with a ‘c.’

DJ Booth:  That’s what I’m sayin’!  And plus, it’s great for Google purposes; if someone wants to find you, there’s not gonna be another Kevin Cossom.

Kevin Cossom:  Right.

DJ Booth:  I mentioned, Kevin, in the open, that people are probably familiar with your work, but might not even know it.  You’ve written songs for Keri Hilson and Trey Songz, you’ve penned catchy hooks for the likes of Rick Ross, Jeezy, Fat Joe, Ace Hood—I could keep on goin’ on.  When you listen to urban radio, and a song that you helped create comes on, describe that feeling.

Kevin Cossom:  It’s amazing, actually.  My first big one was a Lloyd Banks record.

DJ Booth:  “Karma,” right?

Kevin Cossom:  “Karma,” yep.  And to hear that on the radio for the first time was just—I don’t know, it’s just an amazing feeling, just unexplainable.  And then with “Go Getta” for Young Jeezy it was amazing too, ‘cause R. Kelly, he writes his own stuff, so for me to be a newcomer and for him to like what I did and sing a hook that I wrote was an honor.  When I heard that, it blew me away.  I knew I wanted to do plenty more, and I also knew that I wanted to be on the radio again, myself.  So, it’s a battle between both of those things: bein’ happy because it’s a placement on the songwriter end of it, but at the same time wantin’ more.

DJ Booth:  Sure.  I was just gonna ask you, have you ever heard an artist who’s taken your hook and sang it, and you thought to yourself, “I wish I just did it myself?”

Kevin Cossom:  Yeah, that’s happened a few times, I can’t lie.  I won’t say any… [laughs]

DJ Booth:  No, say some names, go ahead—let’s have some fun!

Kevin Cossom:  [laughs]

DJ Booth:  I’m kidding.

Kevin Cossom:  Z’s tryin’ to get me in trouble…

DJ Booth:  No, no, no, let’s keep it kosher—go ahead.

Kevin Cossom:  But no, it’s happened a few times, especially recently; I’m just anxious to be out myself and to be able to get on a record.  You know, as a songwriter, and me bein’ an artist, too, before I got the deal, they just looked at me as a songwriter, so it wasn’t really even an option for some people, know what I mean?  It was just, “Okay, the songwriter wrote the record, who can we get on it?” and in my mind, I’m like, “Leave me on it!” It’s a business, and they have to make the right decisions for their business or for the artist, and I understand it and it’s part of the game, but now more than ever I’m gettin’ a little more respect as a songwriter and as an artist, so things are lookin’ good for me.

DJ Booth:  Absolutely.  Well, something that helped push you in that direction was your encounter and meeting with Danja in Miami.  When he inquired if you had any other skills to offer other than the obvious, which was amazing songwriting talents, what was the immediate feeling?  Was it, “This it it—finally, my big break!”

Kevin Cossom:  [laughs]  I’m gonna be honest with you: my publisher, Sam Taylor, he set that up for me, and I wasn’t even familiar with Danja around that time.  Danja’s not the type of producer who’s in the videos, screamin’ all over the track—he’s not that type of producer.  Not knockin’ it, but he’s not that type of producer.  If you didn’t do your research, you wouldn’t know him, and I’m sad to say I didn’t do my research.  But after the fact they told me, and that’s when it was kinda like, “Wow, for real?  This guy?”  Right off the bat, there was chemistry.

DJ Booth:  Well, he certainly thinks highly of all your talents, ‘cause you are the first artist on his New Age Rocks Stars label imprint.  Kevin, do you consider yourself a “New Age Rock Star?”

Kevin Cossom:  [laughs]  That’s the first time somebody’s asked me that—good question, Z!

DJ Booth:  Thank you, that’s what I like to hear!

Kevin Cossom:  I would consider myself that.  Just with my music—I like to have fun with the music, we like to do what we wanna do.  And there’s a lot of talent in Danja, he’s very versatile; his placements go from T.I. all the way to Duran Duran.  The possibilities are endless, and we can kinda control what we wanna do, and we just have fun with the music, and I think, back in the day, that’s what the rock stars did:  they did what they wanted to do, they played by their rules, they had fun with the music.  And I don’t think a lot of people do that anymore.

DJ Booth:  If you could hand-pick three artists who you consider to also be New Age Rock Stars, and they would join you on a New Age Rock Star nationwide tour, who would you be placing phone calls to?

Kevin Cossom:  I like Wayne, definitely—who doesn’t?  He’s got this new artist named Drake who’s dope.  As far as songwriters, I like The-Dream, definitely, I love what Justin does.  To keep it real, I haven’t really been listening to a lot of music lately, just in the process of finishing my album up.

DJ Booth:  Yeah, you don’t have time.  You’ve gotta focus on yourself.

Kevin Cossom:  Yeah.  But I like anybody who pushes the music and does something different, jumps out of the box.  Anybody who’s doin’ that can come on and join me in a nationwide New Age Rock Star tour.

DJ Booth:  There you go.  If you actually get that bill together, though, I’m gonna need some money off the back end for creating that tour.

Kevin Cossom:  Just for the idea, huh?  We’ll have to discuss the percentages and all that.

DJ Booth:  Sounds good.  In an XXL feature, your sound was described as Usher meeting Justin Timberlake, and, ironically, both of these man are actually your labelmates at Jive.  Kevin, do you feel that your sound and your style are based off of any artist?

Kevin Cossom:  I would consider myself more organic than basing it off another artist.  In that particular interview, that was a question they had to ask.  And, you know, no one ever wants to say who they sound like, especially anyone current.  It was more their decision to say that.  And some people say, “I can hear it!”  But I’m inspired by anything; and Usher and Justin are the people they compare me to, [and] that’s an honor.  I wouldn’t say I sound like them; I take bits and pieces from everything, even different genres.

DJ Booth:  So, anything with a nice melody and some harmonies—it doesn’t have to be pop or R&B, it could just be anything.  So even country, Kevin?

Kevin Cossom:  Yeah, even country.  I can appreciate good music.  And, bein’ a songwriter it’s easier, ‘cause I pay attention to the lyrics and the concepts as well, but I’m just a fan of melody.

DJ Booth:  You reiterated that you’re a songwriter, and you’ve seen a lot of success as one.  Do you fear being unable to meet or exceed the expectations that your prior achievements have planted within your musical foundation?

Kevin Cossom:  I think that’s something you go through in the beginning stages, and sometimes it’s like, “What do we do next?” ‘cause you work so hard to set a bar.  And me bein’ part of a company where there is a producer like Danja, it makes it a little bit easier.  We can vibe out, we can go until we feel we have something.  But the pressure is there.  I used to think that all the time, when I first started gettin’ placement, ‘cause I wouldn’t have been able to tell you I’d be doing hip-hop hooks, but, once it happened, it was kinda like, “Can we do it again?” and we did it again, and then you kinda get a confidence.

DJ Booth:  You mentioned “pressure” several times—is there more pressure doing work for another artist under a deadline, or what you expect of yourself for this project?

Kevin Cossom:  I think it’s sometimes harder to do it for another artist, especially when you don’t get to talk to them.  If you don’t get to communicate with them, you don’t know where their head’s at or where they’re tryin’ to go with the album.  It’s kind of tough to deliver a hit record based off of nothing, you know what I mean?

DJ Booth:  Well, based on your track record, Kevin, I can’t imagine there are too many unhappy customers.

Kevin Cossom:  [laughs] I don’t think so.

DJ Booth:  Yeah, I doubt you’ve gotten very many angry voice mails.

Kevin Cossom:  No, man.  This writing thing has really been a great stepping stone for me.

DJ Booth:  Absolutely—a great stepping stone and a future with plenty of publishing checks in the mail.

Kevin Cossom:  Exactly, that’s what I’m shooting for.

DJ Booth:  Prior to becoming this hot commodity, I read that you worked at Ticketmaster.  Now, personally, I haven’t paid for a concert ticket in about seven years, ‘cause working in the music biz you just get hooked up.

Kevin Cossom:  ‘Cause you’re Z, man! [laughs]

DJ Booth:  But I need to know from someone who was on the inside, what’s up with those outrageous surcharges?  Give me some behind-the-scenes action.

Kevin Cossom:  Man, I couldn’t tell you.  There was a lot of stuff goin’ on behind the scenes even where I was at.  I don’t know—I just sat in front of the computer, people would call in, I’d take the call, they’d tell me what they wanted, and I’d get it for them.  I just got tired of it, you know?  No 16-year-old kid wants to be doin’ that. [laughs]

DJ Booth:  Well, needless to say, you’re a long ways away from those days, my friend.

Kevin Cossom:  And hopefully I don’t have to go back.

DJ Booth:  Oh no, you’re not goin’ back.  You’re absolutely not goin’ back.  If you call me up and tell me that it’s that desperate, I’ll give you a loan; I’m not gonna make you go back to work at Ticketmaster.

Kevin Cossom:  I appreciate it, man.

DJ Booth:  In December, you released a five-song EP, it’s entitled The Pre-Album, it’s what really got your buzz up amongst industry colleagues of mine.  And for those who’d like to have a listen, Kevin has it available at his MySpace page, which he’ll give the address to later on.  We’re gonna have some fun now, we’re gonna play a game.  Based on the songs on The Pre-Album, we’re gonna play “Title Mad-Libs.”  All you need to do is fill in the blanks, are you cool?

Kevin Cossom:  I’m cool.

DJ Booth:  All right.  First one: a prospective female is “Compatible” if both she and you have [blank] in common.

Kevin Cossom:  If me and her have… the same sense of humor.

DJ Booth:  And what sense of humor might that be?

Kevin Cossom:  I’m kinda goofy, man, I can’t lie. [laughs] I like to have fun, I don’t like anybody who’s too uptight.

DJ Booth:  All right, so all the serious women who are listening, Kevin just crossed you right off his list! [laughs]

Kevin Cossom:  [laughs] No, I didn’t cross ‘em out!  Just, live a little!

DJ Booth:  Absolutely.  Number two: if you ask “My Ex,” she’ll be the first to tell you that I’m secretly [blank].

Kevin Cossom:  Your ex or mine?

DJ Booth:  Yours.  ‘Cause you don’t know mine—which is a good thing!

Kevin Cossom:  She would be the first to tell you that I…

DJ Booth:  That you’re secretly [blank].

Kevin Cossom:  Hm… I’m secretly a little bit shy around people.

DJ Booth:  Really?

Kevin Cossom:  Yeah, when I first meet people I’m kinda quiet.  And people say, “No you’re not!” but once the ice is broken I’m good.

DJ Booth:  Well, you’re not the only one; there are plenty of people just like you all around the world.  Last one: it’s always a “Late Night” if [blank] is involved.

Kevin Cossom:  Hm… if the Hennessey is involved.

DJ Booth:  I was looking for the right drink choice, there we go!  Well, Kevin, 2009 is undoubtedly going to be your coming-out party.  Give everybody a reason why they need to make sure and follow you every step of the way leading up to your debut release later this year.

Kevin Cossom:  Great, fun, feel-good, and very relatable music—give it a shot.  I don’t really have a big speech as to why I’m better or why you should follow me; just give it a chance, and, if you like it, keep ridin’ with me, ‘cause there will be more to come.

DJ Booth:  The “fun” angle is certainly one to take, ‘cause we all need a little bit of fun in our lives.

Kevin Cossom:  Exactly.

DJ Booth:  Give everybody your website or your MySpace page, so they can find out more about you.

Kevin Cossom:  Okay, cool.  My MySpace is myspace.com/kevincossom.

DJ Booth:  Kevin, thank you so much for taking the time to join me inside the DJ Booth.  It’s been a pleasure, my friend.

Kevin Cossom:  Nah, thank you for having me, bro.