Kevin Ross is an independent R&B artist who is reshaping the music landscape, and in the process paving the way for other artists to follow. With upward of 100 million streams across platforms, Ross recently became the first independent artist with two singles simultaneously in the Top 20 of the Hot Adult R&B Airplay Chart.
Ross’ EP, Midnight Microdose Vol 1, is a prelude to the subsequent Vol. 2, both of which will culminate in the full-length album Midnight Microdose, slated for release this year.
Ross spoke with rolling out about his EP and what he wants people to take away from it.
What was your process when creating Midnight Microdose?
I operate better in the sense of creativity mostly either early in the morning or at night. It’s like right at that crux. I come alive right around midnight, so that’s the first part of it. With the Microdose, I saw a lot of people in the comments saying how they love my music and enjoy it, but it’s so short. Me being petty, instead of elongating the music, I decided to lean into this a little bit more in the sense of saying, if you thought this was short and brief, then I’m going to give you even shorter songs, but what happens is the replay power goes up and it helps with streams as well.
That’s the kind of climate that we’re in right now. Do you have a song that’s potent enough for people to want to play over and over again? It was an homage to the people who rock with my music to say this is a project that is dedicated to you. I see you, I hear you. Now please enjoy these microdoses and let’s run it up. That’s how Midnight Microdose volume one was born.
What vibe were you going for in this EP?
The first thing you hear on the EP is “Take What You Need for Me.” I didn’t go in with the intention of it being an early 2000s R&B vibe. I’m a new father, I have an 8-month-old, and this was a project where I had to rely on my instincts. I couldn’t overthink it. I couldn’t sit there and be like, “Maybe if I choose to do this, then it’ll give it more of an urban sound.”
I have to really follow my instincts because time is even more precious now than ever before, and I just can’t sit and overanalyze the music in the way that I’ve done before. I have to really trust my ability. That’s what changed in the sense of my intention with it, and as far as sound and vibe, I just wanted something that was cohesive. I’m an artist that’s big on cohesion.
