Keith Robinson: Mr. Music vs. Mr. Movies

Keith Robinson’s talents, soul and style, go far beyond his amazing performances in movies such as “This Christmas” and “Dream Girls.” However, Keith is not acting when it comes to singing and giving his fans a taste of that timeless R&B music with his own twist. Singersroom had the opportunity to chat with Keith about life, love, relationships, acting, shrimp, Twizzlers among other things. Check it out!

Our Transient World… I think love is necessary. I think it’s kind of scarce; it’s so tough now because we live in such a transient environment with Facebook and Twitter. Our attention span is so short so it doesn’t allow us to get to know someone one on one.

We Need Love Like You Need Water or Air… The good thing about love is you need it. You need it like you need water or air. I think the bad part is what makes you laugh will make you cry. Love is being vulnerable. Part of love is giving some of your power away to someone else. It will affect you. I think heart break inspires love songs because you don’t understand it until you have lost it. It’s like when you go hard and you drink all you can only to end up with a massive headache. You are sick the next morning and you’re wondering why you went that hard but you were in the moment then the next night you’re in the bottle again. LOL!

Creating Music… I usually have a concept or I focus on something I’m going through in my real life. We start from scratch. I like to sit down at the piano or with a guitar player and get down melodies. After that I fill in the blanks with the concepts and start building from there. Or a producer might have a hot track or something that evokes a lot of emotion. Usually, I like to write outside the studio, then I try to get the first verse down… everything else comes organically like laying the vocals down.

I think over all its usually about life and love. Relations… either I been through it or someone around me has been through it. I try to do high concept stuff when it comes to love and relationships so its not just your everyday basic subject matter that’s covered over and over; I try to infuse that in my music.

R&B “The Lost Art”… I think it’s a lost art. R&B used to be about real vocals and real instrumentation. But I think again it’s such a transient environment so it doesn’t feed into the market place. But if you ask a woman she would say there is nothing that they think is more romantic than a man singing. I think [R&B] will always be around but I think it is a lost art in the way we used to treasure it back in the day. We kind of take it for granted but I think there is a resurgence… I think people want to hear people sing. They want someone that can sing flat footed, hold a microphone, sing and play an instrument. That’s an art in itself. The powers that be usually take the quick and easy way because they want to money. It’s just like how reality shows have taken over scripted sitcoms. It seems who ever can let off the most buffoonery gets the most air time. It’s not about the work.

Old School Influences… I think a lot of my influences come from old school artist like James Brown… artists that communicated songs dramatically and physically. At the end of the day people want to be able to feel what you feel and they want to really go there emotionally.

The Acting Game… I think the difference is…the key to be a great actor is to make it seem like your not acting and when you perform you have to have a level of drama so its kind of inverted. Every great scene has a rhythm to it and every great song has a level of drama. You have to figure out what that balance is. I love them equally.

Qualities of A Good Woman… I look for loyalty, humility, swag, sexuality, spirituality, goal driven, ambitious and domesticated. I got a whole list. I think that will get you in the door. Physical attraction is what gets you initially but then after that you want to see where her head is at. I’m very passionate about my work so I think I need someone that is just as passionate about what they do to understand me.

Getting To Know That Special Someone… If you sit down, talk and really ask question…you just have to really talk and listen. [A person’s] favorite subject is themselves. If you can get them talking you can figure out who they really are.

ATL 90’s A.K.A. The Young MoTown… When I was in school I had a deal with Motown. When I was in Atlanta, LaFace was popping. TLC and a young Usher were around. I was in a group and organized Noise was going to do a deal. Once we saw our classmates like 112 getting on it, I kind of stopped being star struck. It became real to me. Dallas Austin and Bobby Brown being around… it was like a young Motown. So that got my feet wet to the whole stardom thing.

My Favorite Food… I love Shrimp & Twizzlers.

Top 5 Love Songs:

1. Micheal Jackson – Lady of My Life
2. Stevie wonder – Ribbon in the Sky
3. Marvin Gaye – I Want You
4. Al Green – Lets Stay Together
5. Keith Robinson – Red Eye
Bonus Quincey Jones – Secret Garden

Favorite Movie… Five Heartbeats

My Music Mission… At the end of the day, I want people to be affected by my music. I want to move the crowd. I want to set the tone emotionally, that is my objective. I want to inspire people.
—— By: Interview By DOC