How I Got Here

Amazing Advice From the Most Accomplished Musician You Know Nothing About

Soul singer Kem drops gems he’s learned over the years

Aliya S. King
LEVEL
Published in
5 min readSep 4, 2020

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Photos: Udo Spreitzenbarth

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For nearly 20 years, Kem has been making aunties everywhere swoon. Born in Nashville and raised just outside of Detroit, the neo-soul/R&B singer (born Kim Owens) has carefully paved his musical path, cultivating the art and image of a world-wise gentleman. But make no mistake, the 51-year-old singer has been through the fire, with scars to show and lessons learned in abundance.

As a young adult, Kem battled drug addiction and alcoholism, was homeless for a stretch of time, and served stints in jail. After getting sober three decades ago, he turned his life around, becoming a waiter and wedding singer. His self-released 2002 debut, Kemistry, features the mellow classic “Love Calls,” which still gets burn during chill-out hours at cookouts and family reunions. He’s since signed to Motown, dropped five albums (including his rereleased debut), and scored a handful of Grammy nominations.

All of that internal wrestling we do as men — we have holes inside. And when…

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Aliya S. King
LEVEL
Writer for

Aliya S. King is an author, freelance writer and editor.