The Short Version
Kendi Jean is a local emerging artist in Fort Worth, TX merging her Motown roots with her Cowtown Boots. Though most of Kendi's music falls straight into the Texas Country category, she is just fine with blurring the lines of genres. On Kendi's debut double-album, Lasso the Moon, you will find Blues & Funk, Violins & Horn sections, power vocals compared to those of Carrie Underwood and Janis Joplin, and even some sweet throwbacks to classic styles like Patsy Cline & Brenda Lee. Kendi's debut single, A Real Good handful, released in April of this year and made it to #85 on the Texas Country Music Chart and #23 on the Texas Internet Radio Chart. This new-to-the-scene Singer-Songwriter is just getting started! Keep your eyes and ears out for new music coming August 1st on Streaming platforms, or get a listen before anyone else by pre-purchasing her album, Lasso The Moon now!
The Long Version
My name is Kendra, but my favorite people call my Kendi. I am an an emerging singer-songwriter here in Texas and I have so much music to share with you guys! I hope you're ready.
I have lived here in Texas most of my life, but I was brought into the world in Mt. Clemens, Michigan - so I like to describe my musical style as "Motown Born but Cowtown Raised". I feel a deep connection to soul music and have always been proud of my connection to Detroit.
Texas though, ya'll, is my home. I moved away for a couple of brief college years to go to Florida State University, but I came right back here. Even thought I grew up a suburb girl, my heart has always been called to the peacefulness of country living. When my kids were still really small, I would always beg for Saturday or Sunday drives just to get out of the hustle and bustle. We would rent cabins, drive down south of Ft. Worth to Glen Rose area, or we would come out to Weatherford to eat on the square and do some Farmer's Market shopping. Now, we live in Parker County with a few acres to love, a few dogs, a garden, and some really quirky chickens who I guess I will claim, too.
Cliché alert: Music has always been in my soul. It is true though. It has been so many things to me: my crutch, my best friend, my escape, my therapy, my passion, my anger outlet, my connection with lovely people, and a very true love. I played keys growing up and through high school. I sang in the choir and competed in State competitions. When the theory of piano surpassed my attention span, I started to write my own music. I composed a couple of classical piano pieces for recitals and such.
When it came time for college, my dad let me take his old guitar. I was that hippie-chick on the green space lawn learning every chord and song I could. We were fast friends, me and the guitar. I had chosen Florida State because I received a vocal scholarship, but my music-feels were no longer finding joy in the classical side of things. I decided right away that I was going to drop music as a major. I have no regrets, but I probably would have loved it if I would have stuck it out.
In those early song-writing years, the farthest I ever ventured were house parties, a handful of open-mics, and one inadvertent studio session. As life would have it, money was important, so my job, and eventually a family just rolled on in.
My first-born brought with her several years of medical and developmental hurdles: A couple of major surgeries as a baby, years of physical and occupational therapies, and a pretty fruitless & endless scavenger hunt for diagnoses that didn't matter much anyway. I won't go into each and every detail, but there were some rough years. We starting using neurological Music Therapy with Sarah Laing and I started working in more and more music with her as she grew up. Now, I am proud to say that I share a stage with her often! She has a beautiful tone and perfect pitch that allows me to harmonize with her like a breeze. It fills my heart so full! She is the reason I started writing again. Lasso The Moon is my song for her. It is pretty special that she is singing on the track, too.
Being able to "back her up" during performances really lit that music-fire in my heart again, as well as help me shake off my pretty terrible stage nerves. My husband encouraged me to separate my own music from the duets I was doing with her at the time. That was a tough thing for me to do! It didn't come without ridicule, either. Those haters have to hate, don't they? I battled my self-esteem (and any ties to toxic relationships) to the death!
It was extremely important to me to be an example to my children that there are no boundaries to chasing your dreams! If you feel it in your heart, it is worth chasing it! And you are never too ANYTHING: too old, too developmentally delayed, too ANYTHING, to go after your dreams.
This year, I wrote 14 original songs and recorded a double album, and my first single, A Real Good Handful, made it to #85 on the Texas Country music Chart during a global pandemic. Then, my single Pony Up made it to #82 before the year end.
I am speechless. I am grateful.
I am on cloud nine and a half!
And I am just getting started.
Thank you for being a part of this with me!
Love,
Kendi
