Meet Kenneth Brown II | Professional Musician; Inglewood native; Junior Music Performance Major at Morehouse College

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kenneth Brown II and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kenneth, what is the most important factor behind your success?
There are many factors behind my success with self-motivation being that leading factor. I have always believed in myself because I knew I wanted to be a professional musician and I was willing to do whatever it took to make that goal a reality. As my talents began to shine, my confidence grew. High standards have played a huge role in being self-motivated. I strived for excellence in everything from practicing to performing. Another factor behind my success is planning and creating short and long-term goals. I often did a self-check to make sure I was on target. Another important factor to my success is encouragement from my family, friends, and mentors. They provided wisdom and gave firm feedback that was at times hard to take. My mentors influenced my success by guiding me to the right places at the right times. For example, during the pandemic, my trumpet professor at Morehouse College (Melvin Jones) encouraged me to reach out to a Los Angeles-based musician; That person being Dontae Winslow. After conversing with Mr. Winslow about his career as a musician, arranger, and composer, he invited me to perform at the GRAMMY Awards 2021 with GRAMMY-nominated rapper Roddy Riich. If it weren’t for Mr. Jones reaching out to Winslow, I wouldn’t have had that opportunity. All of the factors mentioned are the backbone of my continuous success.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I describe myself as a professional musician that plays the trumpet who was born and raised in Inglewood, California. I was classically trained and well versed in the many forms of Black American Music such as Jazz, R&B. Soul, Gospel, Pop, and Funk. I also orchestrate, compose, arrange and have the keen ability to perform whatever I am asked to do. Whenever I play or create, I speak through my music and put my total self and efforts into my work. In other words, I leave nothing on the table.

What sets me apart from others is my ability to create positivity through my music whenever hopelessness is present. For example, during the pandemic, I was instrumental in establishing the Front Yard Groove (FYG), a series of concerts performed in the front yard. This provided musicians who were safer at home an open space to perform and provided music lovers a place to listen and groove in a safe, socially distant environment. During these front yard concerts, I would invite a handful of musicians to come and jam in between FYG’s set. On August 23, 2020, I created and introduced The Kenneth Brown Collective/ My collective performed and live-streamed a concert at the Miracle Theater in Inglewood. We played standards, original tunes from members of my band, and compositions from Danny Janklow, who was our guest artist on that day. This all was a great opportunity to express music safely.

I’m proud that I performed at the Walt Disney Hall multiple times, performed on Ellen with Kelly Rowland, and performed on the GRAMMYs with Roddy Riich this past March (March 2021). With Disney Hall, it was awesome playing with the only majority African American orchestra in the world (ICYOLA). Performing on Ellen with Kelly Rowland was amazing because Kelly was an extremely nice person to be around, and I also had to chance to meet other Black musicians and creatives. With the GRAMMYs, my takeaway from that is how poised Dontae Winslow was in the studio session, practice, and the performance. Another amazing factor was Roddy Riich knowing his own sound and wanting to stick with it during rehearsal and the performance. It was also amazing that I met other elite musicians who performed with me, such as Madison Calley, Nick Smith, and Uncle Chucc.

The road was very bumpy, and the struggles were troublesome. For example, when some people learned that I had autism, I was often given low expectations and felt like I had a glass ceiling over my head. I overcome this challenge by moving on and not letting those experiences and the low expectations define who I am. In many cases, I was not socially accepted by my peers, and I often compared myself to them instead of myself as a musician and a person. As I emerged into young adulthood, I learned that everyone is on a different path and that my unique talents will lead me to greatness and inspire others who are in the same boat. The road will never be smooth, but the challenges will make me stronger for what is yet to come.

I want the world to know that I’m willing to put in the work to make my dreams become a reality no matter what. I also want the world to know that I give it my 1000% on performances, rehearsals, and self-practices with a true and positive purpose. That purpose is to have fun, inspire others, and to keep improving every day.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
During the week, I would start the mornings by hitting up a few hiking trails such as Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook Hills to get a great view of the city, from Downtown to Santa Monica. We would also hike at Kenneth Hahn Park and check out the lake. For breakfast spots, I would take him/her to a few places, such as Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles and The Serving Spoon. Lunch/Dinner at “The Wood” BBQ in Inglewood. Local site-seeing might include driving by the Rams stadium, Forum, and the Hollywood Park Casino. We would hang out at the Westfield’s Mall and check out the Metropolis store and check out the Nike store at the Grove. For my friends who are into music, a trip to Amoeba Music store and a walk down Hollywood and Vine to check out the sidewalk of stars. A trip to the Hollywood Wax Museum would also be fun. For the evening we would find some concerts with live music or go to jam sessions.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shout-out to ICYOLA (the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles). I joined ICYOLA under Charles Dickerson’s direction in 2012, where I learned more about classical music and playing the works of Beethoven and Stravinsky. Through ICYOLA, I performed numerous times at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, on stage with MC Hammer at the Staples Center, and government officials such as Kamala Harris. During the pandemic back in October/November of last year, I had the opportunity to work with Devante Hynes (also known as Blood Orange) on a short film for Braindead and Converse. I also had the opportunity to be a part of a commercial for Discover LA, which is airing all over the country right now.

I would also like to dedicate my shoutout to a few people. The first one being Ricky Washington, who provided a positive influence on me. Brandyn Phillips and Marcus Paul, who served as my mentors and friends. Another supporter was Drew Ninmer, who gave me private trumpet lessons. I always like to give Pastor Woodson credit for allowing me to play in the church band from a very young age at Second Mount Carmel Baptist Church. Speaking of the church band, Richard Turner, Jimmie Williams, Don Bynum, Lemar Guillory, Ron Sykes, Ron Roseboro, Takahito Mori, Devin Rochelle, Lyndon Rochelle, and Stephanie Scoggins allowed me to play and learn with them during jam sessions after church. I would also like to give another shoutout to Dr. Chadwick E. Hughes and Dr. Uzee Brown. Through Dr. Hughes, I am learning more about music through the House of Funk Marching Band, jazz band, and symphonic band. My knowledge is expanding by learning music production, compositions in classical music and jazz music, and learning and executing orchestrating techniques. Dr. Brown (who is the head of the Morehouse College Music Department) is a huge supporter and always encourages me to improve and strive for excellence.

Website: http://www.kennethbrownmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenneth_brown_music/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Digitalpuppy