SiFred "Keynote" Mitchell

67

In our current season of uncertainty, I still believe that this too shall pass…I’ve never been a politically charged person, but I think about over the last fifteen years or so, I’ve really started to see things, you know seeing things the way they really are, so I try to be expressive musically, or in the content that I create with people that I’m creative with. For me, LOVE is important and whether it is loving someone or something, you know, you have to experience that. So, that is what I choose to do with my music. Make people feel good! Maybe you can take them out of that moment of strife or stress and go back to feeling good about something, you know, even if it is temporary.

rowing up in New York City (Harlem/ Brooklyn/Jamaica, Queens), SiFred was influenced by the incomparable Luther Vandross, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye and El DeBarge. After attending Julia Richman/Talent Unlimited High School, which is credited for the successes of alumni, Laurence Fishburne, Malik Yoba, Kadeem Hardison, Sheila E., Mos Def, and the late, Gene Anthony Ray from Fame, SiFred soon started laying the foundation for what would be his passion…music.

SiFred began his career as a background singer going on tours with various artists such as LL Cool J (Around the Way Tour), Queen Latifah (Fly Girl Tour), The Getaway Tour (Bobby Brown, Mary J. Blige, TLC, and Shabba Ranks) and with LaToya and Marlon Jackson (European Tour). Soon SiFred aka “Keynote” Mitchell found himself in the —SiFred

68 A&R Department at MCA Records involved in projects by Nicci Gilbert (Brownstone), Mary J. Blige, Avant, Chante Moore and more. “I learned a lot from the experience of being at a major record label and was fortunate enough to meet many people in every department. I’ve met and learned a lot from seasoned professionals at Universal Music Publishing about songwriting, publishing and royalty collections.”

Ambi’ance Uncut caught up with SiFred in Florida, where he took a few minutes to chat it up about things going on in his life, the pandemic, social injustice, and of course, music.

Ambi’ance: You have been a hard man to catch up with and you know we’re glad that you stopped by to chat for a few minutes. I see you are on the east coast right now, is this business or pleasure?

SiFred: For the last thirteen months, I have been traveling from the west coast to the east coast habitually. Not professionally, but personally. A few years ago, I had several elderly family members affected by hurricanes Irma and Maria which left damages to their homes and displacing them. We renovated and upgraded their homes and they were able to return to their homes for maybe four or five months before Puerto Rico started exhibiting tremors and then the two massive earthquakes in January that were worse than the hurricanes three years ago. I once again had family members displaced with homes crumbled to the ground. I put my foot down, doing the best I can, trying to help them get back on their feet. I could have stayed home, but these are our seniors in their seventies, eighties and nineties, and if this were me, I would want somebody to love and care enough about me to want to help. So, the traveling is arduous, and it’s been stressful, but I’m a faithful and prayerful person and I know that God doesn’t put more on us than we can bear. I do the best that I can to help my family, in the best way that I can, and for as long as I can. It’s like an unspoken requirement. A cultural thing. You step up, take charge and be present. I am not obligated, but I do it because I love them. Now we have the double whammy, the pandemic hit!

Ambi’ance: Speaking of the pandemic, how are you doing and has it hindered you professionally?

SiFred: As for me and the pandemic, I am still able to work remotely from home or wherever I’ve been traveling, and I’ve been able

to spend a lot of time with myself, coming up with ideas. I guess you could say, I’m not really reinventing myself, but more like thinking outside of the box. I’ve been able to be still and think of what's currently happening out there, what's trending, you know, and how to be equally as competitive with what is currently being played on the radio, what's popular and seeing how I can do something that’s a little different, something a little bit newer. The social distancing aspect of the pandemic has obviously affected how people go into production on videos or any other type of live aspects that you need to shoot for content, but I’m just staying focused, and staying safe, taking all the precautions. I don't think it's affected me in a bad way, except for just being around people on a regular basis. We just adjust on how we navigate. You can’t congregate or be in large crowds and for my clients who are starting new projects, we were unable to be in an actual physical studio. However, I will say that over the last ten or fifteen years you can easily record out of your home, with a Mac computer, a microphone and all of the things that you need, you can actually record at home and just rely on the mix and it’ll sound as if you were in an actual physical studio.

Ambi’ance: There has been so much going on this year, between the natural disasters, the pandemic and now we are going through the social injustices and systemic racism world-wide protests. I am always curious about our men’s point of views, regarding this serious and constant issue. So, you have the floor and then we’ll talk about music.

SiFred: From June until now we have the protests for social injustices, inequalities and systemic racism that we've been facing as a people. It’s been overwhelming for me to see, as well as for all of our people who were affected immediately by it. What do we do? How do we do it? How do we fix it? I’m forty-nine years old, so obviously I wasn’t alive when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. passed away, but I was born literally two or three years after that and I feel that the only thing that has changed in this country has been technology and fashion. That’s it! Everything else has remained the same even though fashion does come around in segments. I mean, we are no longer drinking from separate fountains or that kind of thing, but we are still fighting for equality. The issue has not really been addressed, it’s never healed, and now with this administration, and the whole Trayvon Martin and Eric Gardner murders and everything that has happened over the last several years, it all came to a spiraling head with George Floyd. I can tell you this, they ripped that band-aid off, and you saw everything scurrying underneath. People are angry as they’ve looked back and said, “Wait a minute, this is 2020 and we are still being targeted as if we are back in the fifties'', you know what I’m saying? I believe in the protests and I believe in the rioting because sometimes you’ve gotta shake the tree a little bit. Make some noise and be heard. What I don’t condone is the looting, and you can’t explain to me why you would run into Target and loot a 65” television because you are protesting watching the murder of a man on television only to take it home, hook it up, and watch everyone protest? Where is the ‘cause’ in that? Or going into Foot Locker and looting several pairs of sneakers that you had to go in the back of the store to find. Martin Luther King and Congressman John Lewis and all the notable Civil Rights leaders protested. Not only did they protest, but they did it peacefully and they had a purpose. They knew the risks of having dogs sick on them, hosed, beaten with Billy clubs or even shot, they knew the risk! I agree with today’s generation and their protesting but do it for the RIGHT reason and understand your cause. We have to be very proactive, band together and stay on point with the message! Let them know that we have the numbers and will fight to defend ourselves for the right to be treated fairly! I’m not the most religious person in the world, but I am a very spiritual person. I believe in God and I know where my faith lies, but you know we have to be prayerful and hopeful that things will change. I can’t control anything else, but I can control what I do.

Ambi’ance: I totally agree and yes, we must remain steadfast in the mission and not lose sight of the prize. Let’s talk about something that makes us all feel good, music! You are a singer, songwriter, music 69

producer and the list continues. Where are you now on the scope of everything?

SiFred: I decided to start my own business as an independent consultant, where I give independent label managers and artists, the tools that they need to put that artist’s project together, ie...getting them to the right producers, writers, creative art directors, imaging styling and so forth. I also give them the option of me serving as creative director for photo or video shoots. Um, so that is what I do professionally. As you already know, I started out as a singer, and finally, after many, many years, I’ve decided to work on a project for myself, my own album! I enjoy writing because it's naturally instinctual for me, and although

I enjoy the entire creative process, whether it's writing for myself or others, I love to sing! I love to say how I feel in a melody form. You know, letting people see how I feel when I can’t necessarily articulate it in conversation, I say it in song.

I sing about life. I sing about relationships. It's funny because in this time and generation that we're in, everybody, you know, over the last twenty-five years or so, has been all about clubs and this and that.

I just write about relationships. I write about the things that I've experienced in relationships, things 70 that I wish wouldn't happen to me

or would happen to me, or I write about things that I see happening to others. I love writing about love and life’s experiences in relationships. I would say my strongest forte are ballads because of the type of artists, singers, producers and songwriters that I admire and have admired since I was a child. Singers such as Donny Hathaway, Sam Cook, Marvin Gaye and El Debarge and of course, Luther Vandross! These are the singers I grew up listening to.

Ambi’ance: That’s funny, because when I listened to some of your older recordings, and viewed some of your videos, those artists were the ones that I immediately associated you with. I saw you as a balladeer with the musical content, your stage presence and your image. You know, you’ve honed into their smoothness? (laughing)

SiFred: I tell you something. I am a fan of Luther’s. I think I am the ultimate Luther Vandross fan! Everyone says that they love Luther, but I have been following him since he was in the group, Luther when I was about seven or eight years old and then the group, Change. I’ve always been taken by his control, his genuine sincerity and how he emotes his lyrics. He and Donny Hathaway have really set the tone of where I am with my music style.

Ambi’ance: You know I’m Ole’ Skool to the bone. I love the music of that era and these guys were amongst the artists of that time. You know, when I listen to it today, not only does it have that chair dancing, finger popping, “Ooooh, that’s my song” vibe, but the songs had meaning. You can relate to the lyrics; you remember where you were, who you were with and sometimes even the season when the album hit the sound waves. I can still relate to some of the newer artists today, but even through sampling, it’s not the same.

SiFred: Yes, when music felt good! Let me tell you, and it's funny that you would say that, because while I understand the generation that we’re in, you know, we have to evolve with music. We must evolve with the times and the generational gap and stuff like that. But there's still listeners. People that love to hear music. That’s why you have a chart for every genre on billboard. You know what I mean? You can still do the music that you love and still have an audience for it. But a lot of these artists today, unless they are that type of artists that are universal, where they can do different areas, most will stick to what they know. Whereas artists from, I would say the nineties or even the eighties, they knew how to give. If you were R&B, you can do a R&B song, but then still do a song that could eventually be on a soundtrack to a film, or that can be used as a PSA, something for an organization that represents. There are so many different layers, you know, but a lot of these people are stuck in that lane that they're in, which is good. Because if a record is bagging, and they played it on the radio and it’s got you moving, it's a blessing! However, I would encourage them to broaden the scope of their creativity and think beyond what it is that they're doing. You know what I'm saying? I think that's the challenge that some of these artists don't consider because they just get comfortable where they are and if they're popular selling records and doing shows that work best for them, they don't think bigger. They don't think long term.

Ambi’ance: Exactly, it’s the things that they are doing now that can make them the legend of generations to come. Look at Charlie Wilson, for example. He came from that era. Today, he’s still recording and still making the charts. He receives the admiration and respect from the artists of this generation, and they refer to him as ‘Uncle Charlie’ and some of these artists weren’t even born or remember when he was in The Gap Band! (laughing)

SiFred: Oh my God, yeah! You know, the funny thing with Charlie Wilson is that the one thing I will say about him, he never compromised his vocal. Meaning he’s never tried to. Now, you might have songs in terms of the musicality that might give you a little bit of today's younger market, because most of those people that are producing those records are younger producers and younger writers that he's welcomed. What they have done is basically conformed to his sound. He's never changed his vocal style, but they have incorporated his vocal style into this particular style of 71

music. It's not like he's trying to do a Chris Brown or an August Alsina type of a record. You know what I'm saying? Vocally, you know, so that's why he stayed a lot longer and relevant and he's doing a hell of a job doing it! I'll tell you that much.

Ambi’ance: You mentioned earlier that you were finally working on something for yourself, these days…tell us about it.

SiFred: Well, I have never wanted to be a singer, but like I told you earlier, Luther was my inspiration and what I loved about him, wasn’t the fact that he was a dope singer or songwriter, I just loved his stage. So, I aspired to be a background singer and I said, “I want to climb up the background singer ladder and I’ll get to sing background for Luther!” So, I had an opportunity to work on a couple of songs for his Dance with My Father album. Unfortunately, about four days before our studio date, Luther had his stroke. So, it never panned out, but, the fact that after thirty years I was able to meet him, be in the same room as him and he chose two of my songs, I was humbled, honored and discouraged all at the same time. Fast forward, about four or five years ago, I decided early in my forties, which is difficult to do when you’ve never put a single out, never done a mixed tape, never performed solo, to get in there and not only record, but put a record out, it just happened by default! I had some songs as an A&R for an album project for a client who 72 breached their contract and I had to go through the whole legal process to try and rectify it. Anyway, I won the judgement and it left me with the songs. Now, I’m like, what am I going to do with these songs because I wrote them for him. I started getting some really good feedback and decided to cut them myself. But because I knew that I wrote these songs for someone else, they didn’t really sound like me, even though I was the one that wrote them, so I decided to redo the project that I previously released and I took some songs out and put some new songs in. So that’s what we’re working on now and I’ll be shooting the video within the next month or two. In addition to that, I'm still transitioning to television and film work musically as a music supervisor and content creator. Yes, I'm out here putting my hands in a lot of different things that people are respecting my work for, you know, but the album is coming and it’s dope! I'm working with some really good and amazing producers who I've been a fan of. People who have put out millions with people that I love, like Faith Evans, SWV and Usher. These are the people that produced some of those records and they are working with me on my project. I’m a fan and I’m so excited about where I am going with this!

Ambi’ance: Exciting for sure! Well, SiFred, it’s been a pleasure and I have had a blast! I’ve truly enjoyed you and I am sure that our readers will as well. As we close out for now, any final thoughts you want to leave us with? SiFred: A final thought? You know, my final thought is just a general thought, words I live by. You can't control life, you can only control what you do in it. You know the blessing is always in the struggle. You can't be blessed if you don't go through a little bit of a struggle. I am a firm believer, that if it was that easy, you would have that song in place, the movie roles, magazine covers, the jobs we want. But listen, life’s not designed to give you what you want when you want it. Now that doesn't mean that you can't obtain the things you set your sights on. You just have to work hard, stay focused and on course. Finally, be the best version of yourself and you’ll receive everything that is designed for you.

Ambi’ance: Awesome words to live by! With that being said, where can our audience find you?

SiFred: You can find me on SoundCloud, at Keynote2117, where I have some songs, of mine. I have a single, called “Love U”, available on iTunes under SiFred Mitchell. SiFred Mitchell on YouTube, my website, www.SiFredMitchell.com where you can buy the album, look at the gallery, listen to some old videos and other stuff. You can also follow me on Twitter at keynote2117 and Instagram @keynote2177.

Ambi’ance: You have Ambi’ance’s total support and we wish you continued love and success!