Talented, unique and independent, Brooklyn-based artist Kevin Holliday is on the rise. The versatile singer-songwriter released his newest single, “Out of Me” and accompanying music video on Friday, and it's the perfect song for easy summer listening.
The breezy new track was inspired by Holliday’s own experience in a "isolating" long-distance relationship, in which he found it difficult to discern what was real and imagined.
“I been locked up in my room / staring at the wall since 3 o' clock / I heard you asking 'bout me getting nosy / guess I get it though” Holliday croons on the track.
“I sort of soak everything in like a sponge” says Holliday, who grew up in a music-loving family. The singer began making music on Garage Band as a teenager, a common hobby for internet-age kids, but Holliday's parents urged him to take the hobby seriously, and it took off.
On “Out of Me” Holliday says he channeled classic R&B and Soul artists like Prince, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. As far as modern influences go, Holliday credits Tyler the Creator, Solange, and André 3000 as models. “Growing up, I just really gravitated to artists that you could tell they were just living their true experience, and not really like holding anything back,” says Holliday.
In the song’s music video, Holliday rides through the streets of Brooklyn on sunny day, and bathes in the light of a disco ball. The surreal visual even includes scenes shot in Holliday’s family laundromat. The video is meant to symbolize the blur between reality and fantasy Holliday felt in his long-distance relationship.
While most aspiring musicians head to LA to jumpstart their careers, Holliday is content with the Brooklyn music scene for now. “Brooklyn is unique in that people are always just really willing to like collaborate. And it's a very communal feel,” says Holliday. "A lot of other places that I’ve visited aren't necessarily like that."
Though Holliday has been releasing music under his own label, Dark Grey Records, for years, he is open to signing a deal with a major record label if he finds the “right fit:“
"I feel like in any partnership I pursue, I just want to make sure that I'm a focus,” says Holliday.
Holliday, who has opened for other rising artists like Rico Nasty and Japanese Breakfast, is going on tour later this year with alternative artist Kid Bloom, and plans to release his debut album in 2023.
“I want people to look back at a sound or a certain type of way of doing things and like think of me,” says Holliday of his future. “More than anything, I just want people to relate to me in a genuine way.”
