Chances are you’ve been singing along to Kevin Cossom songs for years, you just never knew it until now. Meet KC, a Philly-born, Orlando product who until recently has been the man behind the melody. He has penned a plethora of songs for artists ranging FROM R. Kelly to Ace Hood, and scored his first Billboard number 1 single last summer with Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down” featuring Kanye West and Ne-yo. Regardless of his undeniable success as a songwriter, KC’s first love is his own music, something he feels he was born to create. Now with the backing of a major label, his VOICE may soon become as familiar as his pen. You’re an established songwriter, but when did you decide to become an artist yourself? Being an artist was always the priority for me. In my quest for the artist endeavor to pop off, the writing thing came a little faster for me. You’ve written some very big hits throughout your brief career. Can you talk about some of your biggest records? I got my first placement with The Runners for a song called “Go Getter” by Young Jeezy and R. Kelly. I wrote the hook for that song, and that’s when I got my publishing deal. After that I wrote [Rick Ross’s] “Speeding,” [Ace Hood’s] “Cash Flow,” and“Won’t Let You Down” for Chamillionaire. And recently I just got my first number one [single]. I wrote “Knock You Down” with Keri Hilson and Ne-Yo. So, everything is going good. When you first found out that “Knock You Down” was the number one song in the country, how do you react? First of all, when I heard that it was gonna be a single that was crazy. When I heard that Kanye and Ne-Yo were gonna be on it that was crazy as well, especially because of how it all happened. I got a few emails saying that it had gone number 1 in the UK before it became number 1 here, but when it reached number [in the U.S], I had to actually see it as the number 1 song in the Billboard Magazine before I could believe it, and when I saw it, and saw my name [in the credits], it was amazing! I can’t lie though, one of the most amazing feelings is to go to a club and they play
the song you and everybody’s singing all the lyrics. Just thinking about how they’re all singing a song I wrote is a trip. How important do you think it is for singers to write their own material? I feel like it’s important to know how to put a record together. I feel like the people who are most relevant in the game are people who write their own stuff or are at least part of the creative process. If you’re not part of your creative process, you’re probably gonna find yourself a little lost. Everyone that’s winning is writing their own shit, and I feel like [writing your own material] lets you create your own lane. In your own music, what kind of themes do you cover? I talk about a lot of things that people can relate to, especially in terms of relationships and the boy-meets-girl concept. If you’ve ever been in a relationship before, or if you’ve ever liked someone, I got something for you. It’s definitely relatable concepts and not just random music. In your opinion, why haven’t there been more artists from Orlando making it on a national level? This is kind of a touchy subject for a lot of people who are trying to do music in Orlando, but I feel like a lot of people think you need to stay in Orlando to make it, and people get offended when you step out and go other places. We do have a lot of talent in Orlando, but it’s underdeveloped. There are no record labels in Orlando so it’s hard for us to get people to pay attention to us. But I love Orlando and I feel like we have a lot of talent and I definitely want to do things to help bring that talent out. Do you feel discouraged at all by the fact that there are so many artists trying to get on the music industry? Naw, it’s not discouraging; I just do me. I feel like I’m blessed to be where I’m at right now, and hopefully the success continues. I feel like if you work hard and commit to what you’re supposed to be doing and stay focused, you’re gonna eat either way. What you put in is what you get out. You can’t worry about what the next man’s doing. I’m just trying to create my own situation, my own story, my own lane, and for people to see me for who I am. //
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