KENNEDI: A PRECOCIOUS TALENT
At just 20, LA-based singer-songwriter Kennedi has worked with Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Hailee Steinfeld, Demi Lovato, Bea Miller and more. This is her journey… Words_Antoinette Smith [First published Hey Mag, December 2018]
Q: When did you first discover your love for music?
I’ve loved music ever since I can remember. My parents used to make me read so I used to write stupid songs in my library books when I was a kid.
Q: What was your introduction to the music scene?
When I was 15 I got accepted into Grammy Camp LA. It’s this awesome camp that the Grammy Foundation puts on every year for high schoolers in three different locations around the country.
Q: You moved to southern California to attend California State University Long Beach but then put that on hold to pursue a career in music. What changed your mind?
I never wanted to go to college, really. I only picked Long Beach so I could land somewhere near LA. Even when I was there I was skipping class to go to the studio.
Q: Seems like you made a wise move considering the artists you’ve since worked with…
I’ve worked with lots of amazing artists… a bunch of cool people. Snoop was probably the craziest. He has this huge compound out in Inglewood, where all his classic cars are parked next to his Pittsburgh Steelers’ tour bus with his face on it. Once you walk in, there’s a huge Bruce Lee statue and a bunch of candy jars. He has multiple studios there, multiple games rooms, a full basketball court and a casino, and upstairs is his living quarters. Everything he says sounds crazy philosophical. I listened to him for so long. He’s the coolest guy.
Q: Tell us about your songwriting process…
It depends. If I’m going into a session for an artist I normally ask them what’s going on in their life, and we go from there. Melody might come first or the lyrics. If I’m writing by myself I almost always start with melody. To me, that’s the easiest way.
Q: If you could work with one person for the rest of your life who would it be?
Lana Del Rey is the reason I started writing songs in the first place so it’d be a dream to work with her.
Q: What’s the biggest sacrifice you’ve made to get where you are today?
I love my job. It’s weird to even call it a job but I feel like I sacrificed being a normal 18–20-year-old kid. I never really got to do the whole young adult thing. I just jumped right into working all the time. I’m surrounded by people a lot older than me and I miss hanging out with people my age.
Q: How do you find being a young woman in such a huge industry?
When I first started writing I was really intimidated and then I met Justin Tranter [one of the most successful songwriters in pop music today], who I ended up signing to. Working with him has really shown me that I can be comfortable speaking my mind. He has a rule that he won’t do a session unless there’s at least one woman, person of colour or queer person in the room. He’s opened so many doors for me. I couldn’t ask for a better mentor.
Q: What’s next for you, music-wise?
I’m finally putting out more music myself. I had a lot of growing to do as a writer so I’ve been taking my time. There’s a full EP coming and surprise collaborations.
Q: What advice would you give to young songwriters?
Write as many songs as you can. I’ve written a million terrible songs and I couldn’t have gotten to the good ones without them.
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Read more about music — across all genres, in the December 2018 issue of Hey Mag HERE
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