Skip to main content

Maverick Ad

Home

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Cover Stories
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Legacy Awards
  • Past Covers
  • Weekly Archive
Keith Phelps Releases Premiere Single “Need 2 Know” from New Album Stimulus Package

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Keith Phelps Releases Premiere Single “Need 2 Know” from New Album Stimulus Package
Keith Phelps
Fri Aug 21, 2020
Cashbox Canada

Hip hop R&B artist and producer Keith Phelps has channelled his visionary insights into prescient lyricism with this, his timely new album Stimulus Package and premiere single “Need 2 Know”.

The multi-talented musician and creator recently toured as the keyboardist for Haley Reinhart (Season 10 American Idol finalist), and can also be seen playing alongside R&B legend Jon B, or with his band, The Conglomerate. In 2017, he scored Nathan Cheney’s film, A Fatherless Generation, starring George Lopez, Terry Crews, Aisha Tyler, and Bret Ernst.

“I create ‘audible chicken and noodle soup for the soul,’” Phelps says of his sound. “I’m constantly creating music with the intent to aid the inner well-being of the listener.

“Stimulus Package and ‘Need 2 Know’ are part of that. The album is meant to uplift, but also address the heartache of the global pandemic and social injustices plaguing the world.

Watch and listen to ‘Need 2 Know’ here:

“It’s literally supposed to be the soundtrack that would get you through this unprecedented time.”

His fifth album release, Stimulus Package was written and produced as Phelps’ personal processing of the year’s tumultuous time. “COVID-19 really put my back up against the wall,” he recalls. “I knew that, whether the gig was local or beyond, we musicians were not going to be able to go back to making our living the way we did before the pandemic.

“Amid uncertainty, fear, and anxiety, I consciously set out to make a project with intentions of changing my life forever. Furthermore, I really wanted to make something that would give people hope to combat the constant barrage of negative news within the media.

“‘Need 2 Know’ could be argued as a ‘conspiracy theory anthem,’” Phelps considers of the track, which features Gerald Law II. “But more than anything, they are just urban think pieces that encourage people to ask the next questions with regards to the information they’re receiving.

“I’m all about providing additional schools of thought that inspire others to challenge or verify, or possibly change their life’s perspective.”

Phelps suggests the same could be said of the album’s title track, “Stimulus Package”; the remaining songs on the seven-track release round out the artist’s signature sage song-craft.

“Songs like ‘2-Step Dip’ and ‘Wolf’ lightheartedly highlight the ‘first world’ social media commentary that follows our ‘inconveniences’ due to our current global predicament,” he offers. “The unassuming crown jewel of this project, however, comes from the Kalita Records sample of ‘Take A Moment’ by Carrie Cleveland in ‘Love Me.’ I unknowingly, predictively, and genuinely wrote this song two months before the global ignition of the Black Lives Matter movement and what many would consider to be a new beginning for racial and social reform.”

Keith Phelps’ Stimulus Package (2020) follows previous album releases Any Given Phriday (2018), Real.Beautiful.MUSIC (2015), PHiNDiNG Myself (2014), and his debut, Phelps Phriday Mixtape (2013). Early 2020 also brought the single “Never Thought” with Dayve Stewart.

Now, amidst a global pandemic where live music as we once experienced it is paused indefinitely, Phelps is holding dear to Stimulus Package as both a lighthouse of sorts for his audience, industry peers, and — most definitely — himself.

“Silver Lining,’ while serving as the last track, was the first of the songs written and produced for this project,” he shares. “It was specifically written to express how I felt as an entertainment professional.

“The timing of the pandemic seemed unbelievably disappointing and almost unfair. I was just coming into a newfound confidence with regard to my ambitions and artistic efforts.

“‘Silver Lining’ became my personal beacon of hope.”

For more visit:
keithphelps.bandcamp.com/
instagram.com/keithphelps/
facebook.com/keithphelpsmusic
twitter.com/keithphelps

Reviews
Album
Keith Phelps
Month: Oct 2023
Rusty Creek Rusty Creek Looks Back on the Past with a Mixture of Sunniness and Sadness on “…
Sue Foley Award-Winning Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter Sue Foley Set to Release Sue Foley…
XOCÔ XOCÔ Release 'Constança': A Vibrant Tribute to Afro Indigenous…
YA NO Musical Maverick YA NO Makes a Sensational Comeback with Mesearch: A Genre-…
Doug MacNaughton Singer-Songwriter Doug MacNaughton Releases "Energize" from Old…
Fuat Tuaç Unveils New Single "Chez Moi" with Kim Richardson Fuat Tuaç Unveils New Single "Chez Moi" with Kim Richardson
Kat Greta Melbourne's Rising Star Kat Greta Continues to Shine with New Single '…
Molly Johnson Photo Credit Chris Nicholls Legendary Canadian Jazz Artist Molly Johnson Releases Vinyl Edition Of It’s A…
Oliver Pigott Folk & Soul Artist Oliver Pigott Shares Heartfelt Reflections in '…
Month: Nov 2023
Centraal Toronto Rockers Centraal's New Single "Nobody To You" Celebrates…
Charlie PS Charlie PS Lights A 'Slow Burn' Against The Modern Music Industry In New…
Danny Lamb Danny Lamb's 'Powerful (Hold Space)' Is A Musical Testament to…
David Deacon David Deacon Unleashes Blues Brilliance with Good Day Good Night Album and…
First of the Last Stars Ottawa-Based First of the Last Stars Fuse the Dreamy with the Powerfully Raw on “Wrong…
Bill Brennan MusicNL Award Winner Bill Brennan Strikes a Harmonious Chord With Enchanting…

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 108
  • Page 109
  • Page 110
  • Page 111
  • Current page 112
  • Page 113
  • Page 114
  • Page 115
  • Page 116
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

CEO/PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF
SANDY GRAHAM

email:sandygrahamemg@gmail.com 

Canadian Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Don Graham
email: dongrahamwriter@gmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Lisa Hartt
email: lisahartt87@hotmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada 
Michael Williams
email: greydread@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

International Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Malin Osth
email: malin@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Jonas Tancred
email: jonas@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - USA
Rob Durkee 
email: rockster2746@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Developer/Technical Support
Chris Wardman

email: info@chriswardman.com
website: chriswardman.com

Cashbox Cover Design and Graphic Artist
Jain McMillan

email: jainmcmillan@gmail.com

Contributing Photographer 
Tracey Savein - South Paw Productions
southpawproductions@rogers.com

 

 

 

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Archive
  • Issue Archive
  • Past Covers