Anyone can independently produce and distribute music today. Not everyone can independently earn a Pink Sweat$ feature and embark on a continental headlining tour. For perpetually daydreaming R&B/pop artist Devin Kennedy, the recent release of his album In My Imagination comes at a time when life outside of his head is seriously looking up.
From his Berklee College takeaways to his business practices and future plans, Across The Culture (ATC) got the chance to learn more about Devin in an email interview that revealed a driven artist whose mind can stay in the clouds thanks to two firmly planted feet on the ground.
***
[Mayer] was one of my first concerts, and my first time going to the Hollywood Bowl. It was inspiring. I have many favorites from him, but one that sticks out is “Dreaming with a Broken Heart” from Continuum. I always loved how the entire song was building up to “do I have to fall asleep with roses in my hands?” I’m such a fan of the way he’s paired pop songs with really musically interesting tracks. To me, that’s probably where you’d be able to find the most clear influence.
Upon first listen, Kennedy’s sound is a breezier version of the inspirational Mayer. A complete look at Devin’s online presence reveals an impressive and growing body of work that could only be curated by a smart, intimate, and intentional songster much like Mayer.
Deep cuts across Devin’s young discography showcase a budding pop artist who takes heartbreak, longing, and other byproducts of love and tastefully processes them into comfort food for the soul. Devin’s wistfulness is often visually and/or lyrically set to brilliant neon light splashes from a perfect So Cal sunset or an alluring city street after hours, the hopeful romantic it seems. Every regretful “Love You Anymore” in his catalog seems to have a “Fine Wine” to balance it out.
ATC: What’s got you “in your imagination?” What inspires your dreamy, blushed sound?
Devin Kennedy: Even the smallest things get me in my imagination—even just meeting someone briefly in a coffee shop. My sound has come to me very naturally over the last few years. As I’ve focused more on the message, lyrics, and chords of my songs, it has pushed me into a very minimalist style of production, which I’ve quite enjoyed.
“Less is more” is a clear principle in Kennedy’s production, and he showcases the strength of his bare chords and melodies with his “Intimate Versions” video series on YouTube. The songs that receive these well-produced acoustic performances appear to be a mix of Devin’s most popular work and the work he likes the most, a trend he’s continued with In My Imagination cuts like “Falling For You” and the title track (his current favorite off of the album) most recently receiving the treatment.
Devin’s current trajectory owes a lot to the track “Forget About You” and its earliest supporters. Originally featured in the EP Poetry (2022), the continued popularity of the single in the United States is largely due to an interesting re-invasion of the US market:
“I feel so blessed to have people all over the world listening to my music. It’s what I’ve always wanted. My fans [in] East and Southeast Asia have been so supportive around my music for years now, starting with my song “Forget About You”. Last year the song grew so quickly specifically in that region it helped me grow the song to the point of having my friend Pink Sweat$ join me for a remix.
“I was lucky that [Pink Sweat$] liked it and wanted to work on a remix together. I’ve been a fan of him for years and he’s such a talented vocalist and writer. The best part though, was making a new friend through the process.”
The song’s inside-outside-in journey from Los Angeles to Asia and back to the States seems to have peaked with the Sweat$ remix released a year and a half after the original version in November 2023. At the time of this writing, the remix’s official audio release on YouTube is Devin’s most viewed video. The collaboration also adds a cool couple million streams to the over 70 million streams Devin’s solo versions achieved on their own. With such a steadily and uniquely built fanbase, Devin is certainly not one to complain about how and where his music traveled to reach the right people.
His indie debut album California Rain (2023) and fan favorite EP Poetry (2022) both have a healthy spread of views and listens up and down their track lists on both YouTube and Spotify. There are clear standouts, but the numbers and audience engagement suggest a large percentage of listeners who first discovered Devin via his most popular songs decided to stick around.
Putting out as much high-quality content as Devin has in the past two years without major label resources is a grueling lifestyle no matter how much love an artist has for their craft. With the big three US music labels Warner, Sony, and Universal owning roughly 83 percent of all recorded music in the country, Devin’s success as both an independently represented and distributed artist (signed to himself via Wonderiff Music and distributed via Vydia) is an important story to tell as artists continue the broad fight for control over their own music.
With every you-should-be-famous comment and placement in a foreign Spotify editorial playlist, it is hard to imagine a sweeter reward for Devin than the dedicated, organic responses he has gotten from his early supporters.
Devin is a songwriter the way some basketball players are gym rats. He takes pride in his meticulous nature, attributing the making of a great song to “10,000 small decisions.” It is this work ethic combined with an elite, holistic educational experience at Boston’s Berklee College of Music that has seen the indie route pay off well for him thus far. Will he stay on the path less traveled forever?
ATC: What part of your Berklee education are you most grateful for?
DK: In one of my early critical listening classes, we were given a list of albums to analyze for their recording quality. The list had albums from the 60s to now, spanning all different genres. The common denominator was that they were all recorded beautifully. At that point, I was 18 and pretty much exclusively listening to pop-punk bands and John Mayer. The exercise of critically listening to these full albums really opened my eyes to what a high-quality song or album was. Most of all, it taught me that a great song is a great song, regardless of genre. From there, I put a lot of energy into studying and getting better at writing pop music.
ATC: What’s one thing you discovered a degree from Berklee — or any performing arts school — can’t guarantee?
DK: In my experience, the education got me to the starting line of my career. I felt prepared to run the race. In the arts, education rarely can guarantee results. It’s the education combined with thousands of hours of hard work that lead to success.
ATC: Did you always plan to be independent? What have been the greatest benefits and challenges of being indie?
DK: I don’t know if I initially had a plan either way. Early in my career, I felt like many artists do—that I needed to grow my music to the point of getting a record deal to help me “blow up.” However, as I worked independently, grew my team, and the music and fan base grew, it became easier to do it independently. No doubt, there are challenges. With a smaller team, everyone has to wear more hats, which keeps everyone in my world really busy. We are also actively competing with major label budgets as independents. I believe we make up for this with critical attention to the music, visuals, and unique marketing. The freedom to run our business as we see fit outweighs any minor challenges.
ATC: What, if anything, would convince you to sign to a major label?
DK: I think there are a lot of benefits to being on a major label, and there are some great labels/major label artists having a ton of success right now. I look at artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Zach Bryan, Benson Boone and I think it’s amazing what them and their label teams have been able to build together. For me, it’s not the right time, but never say never. I’m enjoying my process and my own world right now. For that to change, I think it would first have to be with a partner that I know I can trust for something long-term. It’s not just about money or percentages; for me it’s mostly about protecting the music and putting it in the hands of the right people. Of all the decisions I’ve made throughout my career, I am most proud of the people I’ve been able to surround myself with.
***
Current fans, potential fans, and supporters of independent artistry can listen to In My Imagination and get more information about Devin Kennedy’s upcoming tour this fall via his Spotify profile.