December 16th, 2009 | By Rick From Chicago
In this month’s latest exclusive Industry Interview feature for THE3XGP.COM, DJ Glew spoke to rising singer/song writer Kevin Cossom! KC has penned such hits as Keri Hilson’s ‘Knock You Down’, Rick Ross’ ‘Speedin’ and Young Jeezy’s ‘Got Getta’ to name a few. DJ Glew talked to Kevin about about his song writing credits, working with Drake and preparing for his solo debut album.
DJ GLEW: How do you feel about the response to “Hook Vs. Bridge”?
KEVIN COSSOM: It’s definitely been, I don’t want to say unexpected, but you hope that you do good work and people enjoy what you do. It’s definitely been a good response. It’s got me excited for the album. Overall the response has been great. Slightly overwhelming because it’s growing so fast but that’s a good thing.
DJ GLEW: ‘I Get Paper’ with Drake originated from Drake’s hookless song ‘Juice’ produced by Boi 1da. How did this collaboration come about?
KEVIN COSSOM: It was pretty much me coming with an idea for that song [sings melody]. I wanted to use that melody or sample for a while. I had a chorus that I wanted to do which was that chorus [sings chorus]. I had told a few producers see if you can you do something with that. But long story short, I ended up hearing Drake’s version and he beat me to it. I heard the beat and it had the same thing in it but it had no chorus on it. So I wanted to try if the chorus that I always wanted to do would work. I was in the studio f*cking around or whatever and I did it. I put a verse on it and it came out pretty dope. It ended up getting leaked out and it got 120,000 downloads in two days on HotNewHipHop.com and people really like the record. It not an official me and Drake got in the studio. It was just me seeing what I can do and it came out pretty hot. Drake knows about it and they know about it.
DJ GLEW: Your title lists you as a singer, songwriter, producer, and hitmaker. Are you the next The-Dream?
KEVIN COSSOM: [laughs] No, I like to look at myself as Kevin Cossom. I don’t like to set those type of perimeters and say I’m the next The-Dream. But I also know that people need things to kind of compare so they can identify you to know where to put you. But I don’t want them to put me anywhere yet because most times they try to place you in a category and try to keep you there. I feel like there’s a lot of different things I can do with different music styles. Me being signed to Danja and him being so versatile. He’s done things from T.I. to Justin to Duran Duran to Simple Plan. He’s very versatile and I feel the same about my writing style. I definitely admire The-Dream’s success as one of the top sought after writers and also on the artist side. I hope that I will have the same success but I would never say I would be the next The-Dream.
DJ GLEW: Should Akon and T-Pain move aside? Are you the new go to guy for Hip Hop hooks?
KEVIN COSSOM: I think there’s room for everyone to eat. I just do what I do. I’m cool with Akon, T-Pain, and those guys. I actually got a feature on Akon’s new album that’s coming out. Akon and I also collaborated on a new Mary J. record that they just leaked out called ‘What About Tonight’. I don’t think anybody needs to move to the side or anything like that. If they want to or feel that way that’s cool but I feel we all can eat.
DJ GLEW: Name one song that you wrote for someone else and wished you kept for yourself.
KEVIN COSSOM: None really. Maybe some of the choruses or hooks that I written I wished I could’ve stayed on. Like ‘Speedin’ or the joint I did for Rick Ross called ‘Lay Back’. But Robin and R. Kelly did their thing so it was never like me feeling like I could do a better job or anything like that. Sometimes you just get attached to something that you write. Me stepping into the artist phase I definitely wanted to be apart of it as an artist but I recognize it’s part of the game. As a song writer that’s my job and they get the artist to sing it. The biggest thing for me was to make sure I made that transition from just being looked at as a song writer to being looked at as an artist and I think we’re getting there.
DJ GLEW: How has Danja and DJ Khaled been important to your success?
KEVIN COSSOM: They’re very important. Of course I’m signed to N.A.R.S. records which is Danja’s label. He’s extra talented as a musician. I learn a lot of different things from him. We challenge each other. He challenges me as a song writer and musician and I hope I do the same with him as a producer and musician. Like I said before he’s very versatile and talented which is a key strong point. With Khaled, I’m in Miami right now at We The Best which is Khaled’s studio, and it’s family with him, The Runners, and the whole team. One big thing I learned from Khaled is the intro to your record. You have to consider it to be DJ friendly and you want a DJ to be able to bring it back. And it catches the ear from the intro. As a DJ he knows certain things and what DJ’s look for and listen to. He’s also always there for an honest opinion. He’s never just going to be a yes man. He teaches you how to be confident when you speaking. Khaled’s got that.
DJ GLEW: Have you heard DJ Khaled’s Mcdonald’s commercial?
KEVIN COSSOM: [laughs] Yeah, that’s funny as hell! But that’s how he is though all day. A normal conversation with Khaled is that right there. You have to be around it man. It’s definitely cool though. That’s what he does. That McDonald’s commercial is hilarious!
DJ GLEW: Do you have any songs on DJ Khaled’s upcoming album “Victory”?
KEVIN COSSOM: Yeah, as of right now I have one joint on there but we’re trying to see what else. We’re still working. Until we have an actual release date I won’t know how many. But right now I have one joint on there. Actually there’s two songs. We like both of them but it’s a matter of which one. Or we might use two.
DJ GLEW: With Hip Hop heavyweights Rick Ross, Lil’ Jon, Snoop Dogg, Drake, Joe Budden, Plies, and Pusha T on your pre-album, who are you looking to work with for your debut album?
KEVIN COSSOM: I just started thinking about that. I’m in the phase of trying to finish the album right now. I like to just do my thing first and then figure out who would be good for a feature for this record. I feel like as the buzz grows I will be able to grab more people’s attention and it’ll be easier to get whoever. My problem before on the pre-album before this, a year ago, was that we needed features and it’s hard when you’re looked at as the little guy trying to get the top guys to be apart of your project. As you see now we’re doing different things and we’re getting these people apart of the project. As this mixtape grows our relationships will grow with people but we have a few connects and ideas. I don’t want to say too much right now until it’s final. But I’m going to do my end and make sure my sh*t is right then figure out what does this song need in terms of features. But you can definitely expect some features, I don’t know if I’ll have as much as the mixtape, but on the album I want to give as much of me as possible.
DJ GLEW: What will be the name of your debut album and what will be your first single?
KEVIN COSSOM: The first single is ‘Relax’ but we threw it on the mixtape because we wanted to get it out there and get people familiar with it. As far as the name we’re still unsure but we’re looking at a spring 2010 release.
DJ GLEW: Name one song that you are currently writing for another artist and you know it will be a future smash hit.
KEVIN COSSOM: Right now, I’ve been writing for me. But I wrote this joint with my homeboy Pooh Bear for Chris Brown called ‘What I Do’. It’s the number two song on iTunes right now. It just got leaked but it’s the number two song on iTunes in terms of purchased songs. Chris Brown featuring Plies and The Runners produced it. It’s called ‘What I Do’. I think that’s going to be a crazy record!
DJ GLEW: Finish this sentence. Kevin Cossom is the artist to watch for in 2010 because…
KEVIN COSSOM: Because I bring you feel good, clever, and relatable music that is authentic. From my point of view, I just do music because I love to do it and hopefully the consumer likes it as well. So far I’ve been fortunate to get people to like what I’m doing. I don’t really have a pitch of why I’m different or why you should mess with me. I know I write all my music and I’m heavily apart of the creative process. If you like good R&B and if you’ve ever been in a relationship before as far as the album goes there’s tracks based on boy meets girl, when you first meet someone, breaking up and getting back to together, and cheating. I think my concepts are very relatable. I have a passion for it and I hope that comes off when you listen to my music.
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