Kelvin Armstrong

I am super excited about this particular #IndependenceMondays feature. I met Kelvin many years ago in high school.

Not too many now! I am still in the 30 and under club! HA! Anyway, I was tagged in a video of Kelvin a few months ago on Facebook and I was blown away! When I feature someone on Independence Mondays, it only applies to emerging talent that has the capability of changing the scope of music.

Today, labels force what makes money on radio. In turn, it falls on your ears. When you hear it enough it starts to get the spins needed that create shows, appearance, and tours. I will admit I like some ratchet turn up in my life, but I also NEED great music in my life.

Kelvin’s music gives you just that. I truly think he is a talent that could change the scope of R&B. We alllll know that R&B is a format has so much talent, but gets the least bit of attention. That is why Tyrese’s album being number 1 and style in which he promoted it was so big.

Kelvin has that type of talent. Talent to be number 1. Now, I am not just saying this because we went to school together. To be honest, I wasn’t aware he could SANNNG in school. I am saying this because good music is just that. Good music. Looking to for someone to hire to sing a dope hook or verse on a song? He is your guy. Checkout his stuff below. Also visit his website http://www.kelvinarmstrongmusic.com/ - Vonyetta (midday personality for Power 98 FM in Charlotte NC)

Rising South Carolina artist Kelvin Armstrong released his EP In Due Time last month. After listening to the album it’s hard to believe that the talented singer who is also a songwriter and guitarist has only been singing professionally 2 years. The album is a perfect blend of acoustic, R&B, soul, blues and a tad of country. If we had to describe Armstrong’s voice it would be a combination of Anthony Hamilton, John Mayer, Lyfe Jennings and D’angelo. The title of the EP speaks for itself in that the album was released during a time when music seems to lack substance. In Due Time delivers the type of feel good music that is missing from the music industry today. While most artists seem to be going main-stream, Armstrong decided to take listeners on an alternate route. Each song on the EP tells its own unique story. You can tell each song poured from his soul and you can feel his raw emotion in each lyric. It is definitely an album you can listen to the entire way through.

The EP opens with Peaches & Cream.The song is far from what you might imagine when you first hear the title. It’s a song about life and the difficulties you might face on this journey that we all must take. It also speaks about fighting for what you believe in.

Falling was one of the most touching and personal songs on the album. Kelvin expressed that the song was about a dark place in his life where he found himself battling with depression. People underestimate the severity of depression and the toll it can take on a person’s life. Kelvin was able to get through those difficult times and transfer his pain into music.

Cold Woman is a song about playing the fool in a relationship. It’s something that happens to the best of us. When opening your heart to someone you’re taking a gamble and sometimes you get burned.

Many people have a belief in God and have faith that no matter what obstacles they encounter in life they feel like God is there guiding them through the ups and downs. The song Stones Throw questions God’s presence during the difficult times in life.

The album concludes with Selfish, a song that speaks on being deeply in love. Many of us find ourselves in relationships that are destructive but the love for that person is so strong that we hold on even though it’s not a healthy relationship. A line from the song states: “I don’t want to be by myself even though loving you is bad for my health.”



We had the pleasure of attending Kelvin’s album release party for “In Due Time” this past Sunday at Wet Willie’s in Columbia, South Carolina. The event was held on the second floor of the venue and there wasn’t an empty seat in the room. Kelvin took to the stage with his guitar in the dimly lit room filled with his friends, family, fans, and music lovers anxiously waiting to hear the vocals of the rising star. Kelvin shared the stage with a few special guests which included his sister Kyshona Armstrong, another talented musician. He put on quite a show singing songs from his EP as well as a few extra songs in the mix. Listening to him live made you appreciate his music even more. His future is definitely bright and we wish him much success. - The Double Scoop

Kelvin Armstrong is not lacking in confidence. That’s evident from the title of the Irmo singer-songwriter’s debut EP: In Due Time, a suggestion that one day, eventually, with enough grit and steel and determination, Armstrong’s music will get mentioned by tastemakers and slotted on Billboard charts alongside Johns Legend and Mayer, as if it were ordained by divine will. Indeed, the video for “Peaches and Cream,” a nimble and polished piece of acoustic R&B, reinforces that phlegmatic self-possession; it ends with the words “trust,” “believe” and “succeed” emblazoned on the screen. Armstrong is all about the power of positive thinking.

Then again, it’d be hard not to be. His music is glossy and accomplished out of the gate, straddling the pop balladry of John Mayer and Bill Withers’ smart soul, and Armstrong glides through his vocal melodies with ease. In Due Time largely leans on singer-songwriter genre tropes — love, faith, sadness, self-worth — but Armstrong comes by them honestly, and largely avoids being treacly. In all, In Due Time is a strong debut. - Patrick Wall

It's tempting to characterize Kelvin Armstrong's music as falling purely into (admittedly quite good) neo-soul revival of the late 1990's, where artsits like Lauryn Hill and India Arie successfully combined elements of contemporary R&B with traditional soul, folk, and pop, but really the Irmo singer/songwriter is a more able synthesizer than even that tag suggests. At times his delivery evokes Curtis Mayfield while at other points contemporiers like John Legend and Maxwell  or even Maroon 5s Adam Levine come to mind. What my endless name dropping probably really suggests, then is that Armstrong already has a finely developed sense of who he is as a singer, comfortabluy traversing the arbitrary lines dividing soul, pop, and R&B.

Even more impressive is that the five songs on In Due Time, his debut EP, are all impeccable. Finely crafted yet loose enough to give Armstrong's voice and light touches of the backing musicians to shine, each feels like it has the making of a future adult contemporary hit. The insistent acoustic strums that ground each track might remind listeners of Ed Sheeran or John Mayer, but each also becomes far more interesting immediately, swing through funky, syncopated rhythms and gliding melodies with ease. Plus, Armstrong is arguably an even better vocalist than so many of his contemporaries. 

The idea of a diamond in the rough in your own backyard is a fairly timeless (and grating) characterization of a local musician but, in this case, it just might be true. The music business is tough, to be sure, but you could do worse than placing your bets on Mr. Armstrong popping up on your television screens and radio sets in the next few years. - Kyle Peterson