Photo Credit: Okayplayer

Day in the Life is Okayplayer’s latest series where we shadow some of music’s brightest stars. We spent the day with R&B singer Kenyon Dixon and he spoke at length with us about his commitment to his fans, providing an intimate concert experience, and more.

The youngest of six, R&B singer Kenyon Dixon grew up in a musically inclined christian family. However, R&B wasn’t his original calling. “I wasn’t even trying to be a singer,” Dixon said. “I thought I was going to be a rapper.”

Luckily, Dixon committed himself to R&B — and secular music. As an independent artist, the LA native started his career working behind the scenes as a writer, working with some of music’s biggest stars, such as Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake, Nick Jonas and more. Eventually, he would launch his solo career, releasing the R&B Kenny EP and Expectations albums over the years. 

Earlier this year he released the best album of his career so far, Closer. The album is tight — 12 songs — and features appearances from Susan Carol, Tiffany Gouché, and D Smoke. The album — which he calls the “best representation” of himself —  is almost an old-school dedication toward R&B music. 

“I don’t believe people are in love with R&B anymore. They like it, but when you’re in love with it, that support manifests,” Dixon said. “I also believe we’re mislabeling classic R&B. We need to start filtering music through its foundation, and if it doesn’t fit the category, call it something else.”

Dixon spent the summer on the road, going all over the country playing the album. In July, Kenyon stopped in Charlotte. We spent the day with Kenyon and spoke at length about his commitment to his fans, providing an intimate concert experience, and providing true R&B at its core. 

Watch our first Day in the Life episode below.