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Sy Smithartwork by philece. r

"The Queen of Indie Soul" 09

Sy Smith Contents

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Johnny R. Johnsonjohnny@usoulmag.com

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UNDERGROUND GEMS4 KeishaLeisha5 Rapheal Boyd

MUSIC ART3 Alex Kok6 ill@DELphsouL7 Philece. R8 Andres Guzman

KieshaLeisha Rapheal Boyd Lauryn Hill by Philece. R

Sy Smith drawing by LaShay Basnight

Ndambi Artwork by Alex Kok

checkout our KeishaLeisha at myspace.com/keishaandleisha

Keisha LeishaThis Canadian Soul Duo Is Making The MusicThey Want To Listen To!

"We weren't privilleged to know anyone who was into music let alone have recording equipment. We had to hustle."

Usoul: Can you talk about your first encounter withmusic? KL: Well music has always been apart of our liveswhether it was our father playing Luther Vandross, El Debarge and Earth, Wind, and Fire in the base-ment at night or listening to R&B music in our mothers car. We have always been surrounded by it.

Usoul: At what point did you decide to start recording?

KL: We decided to start recording when we were able to get the means to do so. We weren't privilleged to know anyone who was into music let alone have recording equipment . We had to hustle ..... thank goodness for the internet!

Usoul: What made you create music that can be classified as soul?

KL: Neo- soul and Old Skool R&B were the types of music that we were drawn and connected to. It wasn't a choice of what genre we wanted to sing,it was just automatic. I mean the demo "Step your game up" we thought it sounded like hip hop R&B... but when people heard it they heard neo soul.

Usoul: Who are some of your musical influences?

KL: We have a lot of musical influences, they range

from Canadian soul artists to artists that don't even speak English. As long as soul is the theme..Beady belle, Amel Larriuex, Maxwell, Bjork, E. Badu, Bilal... too many to name them all!

Usoul: Who are some artists you enjoy listening to out of Canada? KL: Glenn Lewis, Ayah , Slakah Thebeatchild, Zaki , Esthero, and Jason Simmons

Usoul: Do you have an album or EP coming out soon?

KL: Yes we have an EP coming out this year. Wejust can't wait for people to know who KeishaLeisha are. We have had the privillege of working with some amazing producers ( Slakah TheBeachild and Häzel).

10 Stony Island Magazine Iss"ue Three

"My friends and I started our first group at the age of 10 and sang around local talent shows and skating rinks where we would hang out. " In addition to performingwith his friends, Boyd was highly involved in the church choir. He also received some uncommon sources of motivation, compliments of Chicago.

Citing the city that has presented it's fair share of criticism and negativity, Boyd feels that his harsh encounters with"the haters" has only made him a stronger performer."Chicago has always been known for it's hip-hop roots so I've definitely been exposed to performing in front of the most critical crowds but I have no fear when I step out on that stage and I credit that to a critical Chicago." However Boyd also acknowledges the tremendous R&B talents that have risen out of Chicago. Artists likeAvant, R. Kelly and Carl Thomas have all inspired him and helped to shed light on the soulful vibe that Chicago embodies. And although Boyd has great respect for R&B artists that helped to pave the way for him, Boyd hopes his unique sound will open the doors to his own success."I'll try anything on the mic. Al Green mastered his sound when he realized that singing the loudest, with the most runs wasn't for everybody. You have to feel comfortable doing what fits you and what fits me is experimenting with a variety of music such as house, soul and pop and not forcing what already comes natural to me. People respect you more when you don't force it.

RaphealBoyd

o n t h e r a d a r

It may have all started at Markham skating rink when Rapheal Boyd was a youngchild, intrigued by Chicago'sSkating Culture and the music that led it.

Constantly hearing James Brown eventually sparked Boyd’ s interest in music. "My love of music started with how the music affected me.I wanted to touch others thesame way."

Boyd also has his sights set on using his journey towards success to inspire those around him and to help showcase his talented friends and colleagues. But along the way Boyd also wouldn’t mind collaborating with a few well-known R&B hitmakers.

“ I definitely want to work with The Dream. He has a humble demeanor about himself and it comes through in his songs. I love producers who have fun in their songs and aren’t afraid to try everything. Will i am is anothertalent who seems like a great producer that could help me reach my creative potential."

Finally, Boyd reminds aspiring artists to stay humble and never be afraid of success. “We have one life to live andyou never want to wake up regretting the life you led because you did not follow your dreams. Success comes in many ways and giving it your all is the first step."

“I have no fear when I step out on that stage and I credit that to a critical chicago”

article by Johnny Johnson

taylor mcferrin Artwork by ill@DELphsouL

Laurn Hill Artwork by philece r.

Sy Smith Artwork by Andres Guzman

Pursuing Music Professionally

Sy: During my junior year in college I decided that Idid not want to apply to go to grad school immediately. My mom asked me what I was planningto do and I told her that I wanted to try my hand atmusic, specifically song writting.

Music As a Hobby

Sy: For me music was never just a hobby. It was always a love of mine. I studied piano for many years growing up and I sang classical music throughout myfirst year of college.Sometimes the word hobby canimply that you are not taking something seriously. I would get up early in the morning and walk up the hills and through the snow to take my piano lessons so it was always a driving factor in my life.

From Hollywood Records to Independence

Sy: Basically the only significant event regarding mydeparture from hollywood records was that they decided not to release any urban music. They did not release anyone's project, so that was the mainexperience that led to me becoming an independentartist and launching my career by myself.

Fa Sho

Sy: I wrote this song because one day I had a show and I was rehearsing with my band and I said to myself, "I need asong to open this show." So I started playing around withthis John Coltrane song that I knew on the piano and theband started playing with me. From there I just started

http://nialand.com

making up some words like... "Hey ya'll whatup though,glad to see you, at my show....."and I eventually took it from there and sat down and wrote some lyrics. So thatwas a "fa show opener." LOL

Space Themes

Sy: I have always been interested in things that areextraterrestrial , like the stars and the moon. I am an aquarius and I believe all of that plays into my interest in things that are outside of our immediate spectrum. So in my sound I try to reach for something that is not so familiar. I think it would be too easy to write something with melodies that you have already heard. Sometimes I like to play with melodies that don't sound so familar like if soul music existed on venus or mars, what would it sound like?

Be Prepared

Sy: Always be prepared and be nice because you never know when you may have the opportunity to do your thing or who you maybe speaking to. Thereare specific things that I like to do, like when I play in night clubs, I like to tip the sound guy. In general, if youcarry yourself like you genuinely enjoy what you are doing and you treat everybody kindly; things will be a little easier. Kinda like that saying, it's easier to catch flies with honey, than with crap. LOL

http://www.myspace.com/sysmith

Sy SmithIf Sly Stone and DianaRoss had a love childSy Smith would fit thebill. Sy Smith aka "The Queen of Under-ground Soul" takestime to chat withUsoul about herjourney in the indie music business!

"if soul music existed on venus or mars, what would it sound like?"

interview by Johnny Johnson