Live Session with Siren Keke Wyatt: New music and child number 9 on the way
Keke Wyatt (@KeKeWyattSings) has to be one of the busiest people in show business, from heading up her own imprint Aratek Entertainment and releasing hit music collections like her “Rated Love” project to her amazing renditions of iconic joints via her “Keke Covers” project, reality show life and stage plays…whew I’m tired now! Keke is the poster child for intestinal fortitude in this writer’s opinion, she’s gone through it and is STILL setting the bar for others in the game. Keke has an upcoming feature on Centric TV in a segment called “BEING Keke Wyatt” which airs Saturday April 8 at 10:00pm (check local listings).
What’s ELSE is up for 2017? Well the songstress just confirmed she’s expecting her ninth child. While gender and delivery date have not been revealed, Keke had this to say via a statement from her team:
“My family is excited. We come from big families where I’m from. Everyone knows my work doesn’t stop when I’m pregnant so I’m excited to continue performing and traveling around the world.”
The Hype Magazine got some time from the busy diva to discuss what’s up now and coming in the future…in the conversation, she discusses her upcoming reality show which, Wyatt seems to be on the fence as to whether she’s ready for it or not. It’s a bit different being part of a reality show collective like Marriage Bootcamp and then having the cameras spotlighting your life. I’m not sure she’ll have any issues keeping audiences enthralled as her beaming personality and countryish accent make you lean forward and pay attention…on top of that…her sense of humor!!! Wow.
I’m not going to waste time writing about what we already know, I’m gonna turn it over to Keke and let her tell things from her perspective in this lively and fun conversation where she actually calls me a bit messy!!! A first for me as I stray away from the gossipish type things…but hey everybody slips from time to time…TUNE IN!
Here’s the official line on Keke Wyatt
Between the runaway-elevator life that inspires her songs and the reality shows in which she stars that find her generously sharing her highs and lows to help others, international singing star Keke Wyatt has a treasure trove of musings on the subject of love. So much so that her latest project, Rated Love (released via her own Aratek Entertainment through a multi-album artist services deal with global distribution company INgrooves Music Group) has morphed from a five-song EP to a 12- song CD into a deluxe digital download boasting 17 songs plus interludes. Rated Love goes further than any previous Keke Wyatt release to reveal “the real” Keke with a diverse collection of material by the lady and her team of writers and producers that includes R&B, country, techno-pop, acoustic soft rock and contemporary inspirational styles—all served by the wallop of Wyatt’s dynamic vocals reflecting more of the music she has taken to heart across her lifetime.
“Everything on this album that I wrote is literally what I go through with my husband, Michael,” Keke confesses. “All the things I want and expect from him. Musically, people want to keep me in a box with Avant (the R&B singer with whom Keke has enjoyed three mega hits as duets). I love him like a brother and we do have a great sound together; but that’s not my sound, that’s just how people first heard me. My sound is like a big ol’ pot of gumbo. I’m biracial so I grew up around all kinds of music. With my mother’s family, one part was gospel country and another part was hillbilly country. On my daddy’s side, it was down home gospel. All of that is in me, but I’m taking baby steps. I know I can’t go from being one thing people have been hearing then turn around with something completely different. ‘Lie Under You’ from the EP is more what I love to do.”
Rated Love was introduced with the attention-grabbing single and video “Sexy Song,” about engaging all the senses in foreplay and lovemaking from a woman’s point of view. The heat gets crunk even more on songs like “Red Light,” “On Repeat” and what’s sure to be a fan favorite, “Jodeci.” However, most of Rated Love is about the all-or-nothing madness that comes with being in a committed relationship with someone you absolutely adore one minute then want to smash a champagne magnum over their head the next.
One fine example of this is the acoustic and introspective “No Peace.” “A relationship can be a rollercoaster,” Keke explains. “At home, sometimes it feels like war, but it’s a war of peace. I’d rather be in a war with you than to not have you. That’s how I love my spouse.” On the lighter side there’s the pop-country electric guitar-laden “Dumb Love.” “It’s so stupid when you love a person so much that you take stuff off of them you wouldn’t take from anyone else. When I get mad and tell you to leave, that doesn’t mean leave! That means, ‘Come and hold me closer. Even if I push you away, don’t let me go.’ That’s just how females are.”
Among Rated Love’s most emotional tunes is “Back to You.” “It’s the feeling I have when I’m away from Michael Jamar,” Keke shares. “When we get into arguments and either he decides not to go on the road with me or I tell him I need a break and leave. The longer we’re apart—especially when it’s time for bed—all I can do is think about getting back to him.”
Still, from the techno groove of devotion “Anything,” the moody “24 Hours” and “If It Ain’t You” to the tender “I Know” and “If I Had You” to the epic “It’s Reigning,” Keke’s husband/manager Michael Ford was the primary muse for Keke to put pen to paper.
“Michael and I met in a club,” she laughs. “This other guy had gotten up the cajones to ask me to dance then started getting inappropriate and didn’t know when to stop. Michael came over and said, ‘Do you mind if I dance with her awhile’ and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, thank you for saving me!’ We started poppin’ and doing crazy dances. I thought, ‘He is so cute…and silly…like me!’ And he had no idea who I was which made me like him even more. He caught me at a time that I was completely restarting my life. He was working as an insurance claims specialist after a major storm hit town a mile away from where I was then in Kentucky. We went to the same stores and restaurants but never met until that night at that 4th Street club, 30 minutes away in downtown. That is destiny.”
Along with her, Michael and business partner Andrae Crenshaw running Aratek Entertainment—a landing pad for underdog artists and songwriters—Keke is also gearing up for a Rated Love tour to spread the messages of her inspired new project live in concert. Asked what has been her greatest lesson in love, Keke muses, “Just because you love someone doesn’t always mean that they love you back. I learned that the hard way with my first husband. That’s a set of songs y’all haven’t heard yet. My next album will touch on ‘sections’ of my past life, but I’m remarried and have been for eight years. I have someone that loves me back as I love him, so I have that to sing about now.”
Reality Show Life
Beyond the craziness that comes with putting your life under the microscope of reality shows, Keke relished the opportunity to share her stories—good, bad and ugly—with others. Keke and Michael signed up for the new season of the probing relationship series Marriage Boot Camp, debuting in October 2016 on WE Network.
“I’m an open book,” Keke states. “I want people to know, ‘I’m just like you. You were abused by your husband? So was I. You have a blended family —me, too. I have a great husband who loves my children like they’re his. I want people to see that good men do exist out there. The one thing that is hard is reading evil comments about my family on social media. I had four kids with my first husband, three kids with Michael and he had a daughter from a prior relationship—eight children, ages 1 to 16. Marriage Boot Camp is about issues at home in Atlanta as husband and wife, and our individual ticks growing up.”
Keke got her proverbial reality show feet wet starring in R&B Divas: Atlanta, TV-One’s top-rated program about the behind-the-scenes lives of female soul singers. Keke shared about her life as an artist, mother and wife along with cast divas Faith Evans, Angie Stone, Nicci Gilbert, Syleena Johnson, Monifa Carter, LaTavia Roberson and Kameela Williams.
The Early Years
Born Ke’Tara (pronounced key-TAIR-ruh) Wyatt, Indianapolis-native Keke grew up the second born along with three brothers (all musically inclined) in a mixed-race family. Father Keever Wyatt II is a minister, organist and vocalist, and mother Lorna Wyatt is a powerful vocalist and church choir director. Keke’s grandmother discovered her ability to harmonize at age two. She began singing in church with her family shortly after and had her first solo performance at age five. She recorded her first gospel song, “What If,” when she was ten years-old.
Music was Keke’s first love—not only singing but as a mighty good drummer and percussionist also adept at keyboards, guitar and bass. However, she was also the only girl on her high school wrestling team (having all brothers and live-in male cousins creates such necessities). In between bouts on the mat, Keke performed with various girl groups, even receiving an invitation to join The Dollz (the Houston group that evolved into Destiny’s Child). Keke became a protégé of noted producer Steve Huff. Under his tutelage, she recorded demos for record labels and developed her songwriting skills.
When Keke turned 16 years-old, Huff introduced her to R&B singer Avant who asked Keke to join him on a cover of René & `Angela’s 1983 Quiet Storm masterpiece, “My First Love.” The sumptuous duet became a hit all over again for another generation in 2000 and was Keke’s first out of the box smash, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. At 18, Keke released her maiden voyage to the world with the album Soul Sista on MCA Records, scoring a platinum album and a second hit duet with Avant titled “Nothing in This World” (produced by Randy Jackson, pre-American Idol) which went to No. on Billboard’s “R&B Singles” chart. Worldwide sales helped Keke create fan bases in Europe, Japan and Korea.
Keke walked away from MCA, leaving two completed CDs in the can. Though she continued performing, Keke didn’t release her second CD, Who Knew, until 2010 followed by Unbelievable in 2011 (both on Shanachie Records). The latter included “Saturday Love,” a duet with American Idol-winner Ruben Studdard that was a remake of the Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal hit. Prior to Rated Love, Keke scored a third smash with Avant in 2013 titled “You & I.” An instant classic, it hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Urban Adult chart around Valentine’s Day 2013 and remained for seven consecutive weeks.
“Keke Covers” on YouTube
She also started a “Keke Covers” series on her YouTube channel where she posts videos in the studio wailing anything from Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and Beyoncé’s “Love On Top” to Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and—most popular—Jeremih’s “Oui,” which taps into her more youthful friends base. Especially touching is her recent video
“Diamonds and Pearls” by Prince—an artist to whom she feels most kindred. “I loved when Prince sang from his bass to his falsetto all in one song. And we’re both gifted with playing multiple instruments. I think my ‘friends’ would really enjoy seeing me play instruments more.”
Editor’s Pick:
Domestic Violence Spokesperson
A highly publicized domestic violence incident with her first husband/manager in 2001, and the loss of a childhood friend to domestic violence moved Keke to become a dedicated advocate for other such victimized women. She is a spokesperson for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, as well as a celebrity supporter and activist with the Saving Our Daughters organization. Keke interacts with domestic abuse victims, and uses her music and entertainment platforms to bring the issue public awareness. Keke Wyatt has become a beacon of encouragement for women trying to overcome their circumstances.
Bonus: A full run of Keke Covers for you!
TweetAbout the Author
Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.
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