And Now: Vin-Keatin
Vin-Keatin, NYC R&B artist releases debut album, The Beginning of Forever
I apologize in advance if upon first listen you are confused and bewildered. I hope that you’re not too taken aback by the absence of misogynistic lyrics and completely empty uses of the n-word. I’m sorry guys, hope that these nine solid tracks of pure emotion delivered through lyrics with intent and heartfelt melodies don’t scare you too badly.
Besides, I get it. I totally understand how you could be confused on what R&B truly is when songs that praise women for desiring a man because of his foreign car spend weeks atop the Billboard charts and are fed to you on the radio on a daily. But you won’t find any of that here on Vin-Keatin’s debut release The Beginning of Forever. Consider this your R&B revival. Or, as the artist himself put it a reminder that "R&B is alive".
A few weeks ago I was invited to a midtown Manhattan studio where an eclectic crowd of NYC creative enthusiasts gathered in a cozy room to catch a first listen at Vin Keatin’s official debut project. I’d heard him perform before and knew the man had pipes and a voice that can suspend a trance over his listeners so I was anxious to see what his own work had in store.
Over the course of the evening Vin, his band, and his backup vocalists took us on a journey through the project as he played some tracks while waiting quietly in the corner and others he belted out acapella. In between he gave us insight on how the project came to be and how he and his long-time producer, Maestro, collaborate effortlessly.
Vin acknowledged that he was in a relationship with someone that he thought he would marry when working on #TBOF and because “life is his muse” every bit of that is evident throughout the album.
The album opens with “U R” an uptempo track that evokes a feeling of dancing with someone you love in the kitchen while cooking dinner. Vin describes the way he would love, honor and respect the one he’s pursuing if given a chance, essentially this is where the story begins.
My personal favorite, "Chocolate Kisses" is nestled near the middle of the album. Here we take a pause to relish in what many lose sight of when they're comfortable in a relationship; we take four minutes and thirty-two seconds to contemplate the possibility of sensuality and romance together at once. But it's not that Hallmark romance. It's a level of romance that suggests his woman is likely listening to these words while at work, daydreaming and rushing home. It's a romance fueled by desire. A flame that's real.
By the time we reach the close of the album Vin has touched on every up and down and curveball of love and we are forced to reconcile that “perhaps they weren’t the one” as the final track “Trouble” declares that “all that pleasure won’t be equal to the pain”.
After nine emotionally enveloping songs all we’re really left with is one question: What happens when forever ends? Perhaps that’s what we can expect next from Vin.
Happy Valentine's Day.
The Beginning of Forever is now available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify. Enjoy, lovers.
