A balancing act INTERVIEW

We catch up with dad of one and barber-shop owner Kevin Gedert to find out how he has taken his passion as a hip hop artist to the next level, alongside family, work and despite a global pandemic. Written by Ara Lee

Maybe you’ve been there. You get to your early thirties after setting up your life and feeling that everything is moving onto the right track and suddenly you recall a passion that has accompanied you your entire life. A hobby or a talent that needs to find its place in your new set-up. Most of us would not have the time, energy, or even the courage to pursue a passion alongside family and work life, so what is it that has motivated Kevin to follow his dream into hip hop?

I think you get to a stage in life when you feel like you have something to share – something that will help other people or younger generations to realise that they have their whole life and potential ahead of them. Also, maybe there are people at my age and older who think it’s too late to do something they always wanted to do, but you’re never too old to start something new. And you are always free to decide the person you want to be. It’s what I pick up from the insecurities people have in the usual chats you have with customers when you cut their hair – a time-old cliché that people come to the barbers to talk, get advice and a haircut (laughs). Becoming a dad just gives you a different perspective of the world. It’s amazing and demanding, and you learn the importance of doing things now.

I’ve always loved hip hop – it’s part of me and I grew up with the music. For me, you hear the music, relate to a beat and then the words just flow. I want to get as comfortable performing on stage as I feel in the studio. But that’s about practising all the time. I’m no stranger to putting in the work – you have to practise for ages to cut hair well, so you quickly learn the virtue of hard work, that the more you do something, the better you become at it. That’s when a skill becomes second nature and, dare I say, an art form.

I love the performing and the technical side of it – being in the studio. Creating something feels like a type of therapy for me. I’m not a Backstreet Boy, I’m just a guy making music, so I don’t think it has to be about not being a family scene. I suppose it’s a form of expression – a creative platform – like adding poetry to music and sharing a message with the world. My message? That we all express ourselves in different ways – the clothes we wear and the hair colour we choose. Being ready to take a calculated risk to try something new because you know you might regret it if you don’t and you don’t want to look back at life that way, so why not give it a try? I do have a family and I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dream if it wasn’t for the support of my family.

Like anyone I suppose. I have an amazing partner, Vanessa, who understands my passion and encourages me to do what I love. I would never have had the courage to start had it not been for Vanessa telling me I’m good enough and also taking care of our baby daughter while I run the barber business. I realise that I have to make every minute I spend creating in the studio count because it’s time I’m away from my daughter and partner.

Sure, we’ve had our ups and downs like any couple. But she’s the first girl I met that I felt ready to settle down with. We just knew that the next natural step was a family. I never felt like I was ready to become a father – always thought I needed to be perfect, give my kids what I never had, you know. You can never live up to that ideal, so I kind of ruled out having a family. It all changed when I met Vannie – we have an understanding, a way of communicating that clears the air but never questions our love and commitment for each other. It feels like fate to be honest; we met pretty late in life and her childhood wasn’t a walk in the park either. So we can relate to the struggle and support each other through building a better place for our daughter to grow up in.

LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE THEIR CHALLENGES GROWING UP, RIGHT?

Absolutely. Growing up was tough. I didn’t have that much encouragement and praise as a kid. It was complicated. My stepdad died of cancer when I was nine and that. She ended up with a guy who was heavily into heroin and it was one of those situations where they weren’t good for each other, but couldn’t live without each other. I went to sleep with a knife under my pillow for protection. Between the ages of 9 and 15, we moved around a lot – mostly skipping town at night. It was far from a stable upbringing. When my mum went back to him after a while of separation, he kicked me out and my mum didn’t back me up, so that was a hard lesson to learn. I’m not saying I blame anyone for that, but I did feel a little lost after it all – got in with a difficult crowd and caught up in a criminal scene for a while, I suppose you look for an alternative group identity and don’t always make the best choices. But realised quickly that I didn’t want to be on that path and needed to make my legacy in the world more positive and constructive.

There will always be people who don’t like what you do, and that’s everyone’s right and freedom to choose. I’ve

from an early age, I was responsible for looking I’ve learned to after my mum. My mum make criticism had a lot to deal with my catalyst to and didn’t make the best choices in partners after grow learned to make criticism my catalyst to grow. I learned to prove those people wrong who said I wasn’t good enough to do music and also to silence that voice of doubt that we all have saying we’re not good enough or can’t do it. Now, I do it because I really enjoy it and feel a sense of purpose, so that external motivation is transforming into an internal drive. I know that with Vanessa we can build a strong family and have chosen aunts and uncles as surrogate grandparents for our daughter – when you don’t have your own stability as a family you learn to trust people around you and make your own family.

Life experience is the main influence and, of course, hip hop artists of our time: Stormzy, Trae, Khalifa, Nas, Logic G- Easy, Eminem, Yelawolf, Dr. Dre. – Compton is my favourite album. I’m working on several tracks right now, not necessarily an album, but who knows, maybe it will evolve into one.

Listen to Kevin’s recent track on Spotify: tinyurl.com/y3amx2yz

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