There’s a
large tattoo on Keith Cook’s forearm that reads, simply, “Remember.” It
reminds him never to forget where he came from, not just the successes, but
the mistakes, which gave him the will power that brought him to the present,
ready to present his music to the world.
“Wondering,” a sexy contemporary R&B song which reflects Keith’s roots in soul
and modern-day hip-hop, featuring his forceful falsetto and a rock-hard, Florida
bass-heavy street rhythm, is the first single from the Florida native’s
forthcoming solo debut album on his own The Establishmint Music, founded with
Curb City Studios owner Aaron Johnson.
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” says Cook. “I just needed to find the right
people who believed in what I was doing and put me in a position to succeed.”
Cook has already had a chance to experience stardom. In Norway, he joined his
friend Øyvind Sauvik, one-half of the popular Norwegian hip-hop duo The
Paperboys, contributing several songs, including the Gold single, “Find My Way,”
and such national hits as “Moving Up” and “RaRa.” Cook performed with the band
at Denmark’s Roskilde Festival with No Doubt, and opened for Destiny’s Child. He
quickly became part of the self-declared “AA Clique,” which included the
Paperboys as well as fellow Norwegian rap group Madcon, who have since had a
U.S. hit with their cover of the Four Seasons’ “Beggin’.”
Before he became a success in Norway, Cook survived an arrest for robbery when
he was a teenager, spending three years in jail, where he honed his songwriting
skills by coming up with hooks for several rappers he knew on the outside. He
was also a lightweight champion belt holder on the mixed martial arts Extreme
Fighting circuit. In the midst of all that, Keith made good on his own vow to
return to high school and get his degree, all the while working an overnight
construction job from 7 at night to 5 in the morning. As you can see, when Keith
Cook sets his mind to something, he usually accomplishes it.
Music wasn’t something he was interested in right away, even though his mother,
a church choir director, forced him and his two brothers to join the vocal
group. As a kid, his mom played gospel music around the house, while his father
turned him on to Motown classics like The Four Tops and the Temptations. “We
loved Michael Jackson back then,” says Keith. “It was a melting pot of all
different kinds of music.”
It wasn’t until he was 16, though, while behind bars serving his sentence that
he taught himself to write songs.
“It was something to do to pass the time,” he says, but it soon became a
passion.
When he was released from prison, Keith began to hone his skills with a cousin,
producer Mardio Lattimore, who taught him “the finer points of harmonies,
structure and composition,” though he never did actually learn to read music.
“I never really had any vocal coaching,” says Cook, though he does both the
leads and all the background harmonies on his own recordings. “I’m not musically
inclined. I can’t tell you an eighth-note from a quarter-note, or an A from a
B-flat, but I hear harmonies in my head, then I record what I hear. That’s
pretty much how it goes down.”
Since completing his first single “Wondering”, Keith has begun laying down the
rest of the tracks for his debut album at Big 3 Studios.
“That’s just one song,” Keith cautions us not to jump to conclusions about what
the rest of the album will sound like, while citing J. Holiday and Jeremih as
two current favorites. “I have a contemporary R&B edge with a throwback flava to
the vocals, but my writing is basically modern-day hip-hop. I don’t want people
to pinpoint me as solely urban, because I’ve got some real pop-oriented tracks
as well. You’ll have to hear at least half a dozen songs to get a grasp of my
writing style, versatility and vocal ability.”
With his chiseled body, six-pack abs and raw sensuality, Keith Cook knows he’s a
magnet for the ladies, but he’s hoping the men will come check his music out,
too.
“I have songs from a guy’s point of view, too,” he says. “But visually, yeah,
I’m trying to appeal to the women. I want to keep my image down-to-earth, real,
though.”
With the album nearing completion, Keith Cook is ready to take his act on the
road.
“I want to perform everywhere, really get my music out there,” he says. “Give
people a chance to find out who Keith Cook is here in the U.S., just like they
already do in Norway.”
Norway’s loss is our gain.
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