Kevin Cossom

You may have never heard of Kevin Cossom by name, but I guarantee that you’d recognize his work. Cossom is the Grammy nominated song writer behind Keri Hilson’s mega hit, Knock You Down. He’s written hooks for Lloyd Banks, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Rick Ross, Trey Songz, Chris Brown and the list goes on and on. He recently worked on Justin Bieber’s sophomore album, giving him an edgier sound. I had never heard Cossom as a recording artist until I heard him on Pusha T’s track, Feeling Myself. I was literally hooked by his voice, and immediately downloaded his mix-tapes. Cossom reminds me of Usher during the Confession era, R&B at its ultimate best.

Cossom’s road to being a solo artist was detoured early on,“I was shopping for a deal as a solo artist. My manager got me connected with a security guard who had worked for 50. When I went to take meetings in New York, I ended up heading to 50′s crib. He was living in the old Mike Tyson mansion. I got on with G Unit and wrote and recorded Lloyd Bank’s Karma.” The early on success was bitter-sweet for Cossom, G Unit ultimately ended up taking Cossom off the track and replaced him with Avant. “My hometown, Orlando, still played the version of Karma with me on the track. Being from Orlando nobody had reached that type of success with a major artist. To be associated with that was something cool, especially in my hometown people started looking at me.”

After Karma hit, Cossom got introduced to Young Jeezy. “I gave Go Getta to Jeezy and afterwards Ross hit me up, he needed a joint so I gave him Speedin. Being from Florida the Miami movement was starting to take off. I hooked up with DJ Khaled and started working with the production team, The Runners.” It wasn’t long after that Jeezy and Ross came calling again, “I started making relationships with them and they were hitting me up for a second and third time. I did Ross’ Ashes to Ashes mixtape and then Jeezy got at me. I’m just delivering good music, and making a name for myself in the industry.”

Going off the momentum Cossom had created with Go Getta, he sent a song to Polow Da Don that would change everything for him. “I was writing this song and I was just really vibing, and I sent it off to Polow. He tells me that it would be perfect for Keri Hilson. The way Knock You Down came about was crazy. I wrote an entire song for Keri. Once she recorded it, Ne-Yo heard it and said he wanted to be a part of the song. He wrote his own hook, and it became Keri and Ne-Yo.” Kanye West was originally slated just to be Hilson’s love interest in the video, “Kanye heard the track and decided he wanted to be a part as well. Kanye chose to be on Knock You Down. I thought this is going to be crazy cool and it turned out to be a blessing. It was my first number one hit and my first Grammy nomination.”

While riding high on his Grammy nomination, Cossom decided that he still wanted to pursue a career as a solo artist. He started writing songs for himself, “I started making the transition of thinking of myself when I was writing. It’s different when you write for other people, you have to keep them in mind. They might already have a sound going on their album. I always try to be myself, but I fit into their body of work and give them a hit.” When it comes to writing his own songs Cossom has one philosophy, “I want me to do me. Once people trust your sound after they know you’re down, they realize you’re dope, they let you do your thing.” Cossom describes his sound as, ”smooth R&B with beats that hit hard, it’s a dope contrast of smooth and aggressive. I’m a moody person, and it shows.”

Cossom’s latest mix-tape, By Any Means, samples everything from Kanye West, Runaway to Ciara, Ride. “Runaway is one of my favorites because of the story and the showcasing of the performance in a different way. I’m singing on the track, but it feels more like a conversation. I sampled Tears for Fears, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, nobody would expect that and it’s groundbreaking.” It didn’t take long for the label to take notice of Cossom, “My team is now fully on board with the label. I’m signed with Danja’s label, N.A.R.S/Jive Records.”

Cossom praises his fans as a big inspiration to him, “I love my fans, they go so hard for me. I have the most genuine fans. I appreciate the support, and this is only the beginning for me. I’m excited for them to hear what I have in store. I feel so good about my music. As long as my fans keep rocking with me, I’m great. Having a purpose and being relevant in the game to some people, that’s the best. I’m going to take it as big as I can, only God knows what’s next.” Cossom is poised to hit it big as a solo artist, he already has the stamp of approval from known hit maker, DJ Khaled. With his proven talent at making hits and his incredible voice and presence, it’s only a matter of time until you are singing COSSOM.

Kevin Cossom (Remix) – Runaway