FILE UNDER: Urban/Hip Hop/Pop It’s hard to believe that such a magnificently beautiful and positive song such as Good to Me could be born out of such a potentially dark and despairing place. But that’s because you don’t really know Kaymbo Shines, the gifted Montreal/Atlanta based Canadian hip hop artist, who wrote and performs this memorable song. Only someone with such an extraordinary faith and sense of gratitude could have fused a powerfully positive world view with an equally brilliant ability to craft songs that are meaningful, accessible and as captivating as any of the pop music being heard today. radio stations like we do now. So I grew up listening to songs like Soak Up the Sun by Sheryl Crow, or Ironic by Alanis Morissette. Those are the sorts of songs, the good quality pop songs that soaked into my DNA. Writing Top 40 music is what I am more comfortable with, so I incorporate that style into my hip hop to make music that everyone can gravitate towards.” Through his appreciation for well written melodic hooks, crafty songs that were both meaningful and memorable soon became his driving motivation as a songwriter. “Melody is everything. I wasn’t able to speak English at first, so I might not have understood the words in a lot of songs when I was a kid, but I knew a song was good because you could hum to it, and that was Good to Me chronicles Shines’ thoughts and feelings in the aftermath of hearing the traumatic news that his mother had suffered a devastating stroke and was comatose in a hospital bed thousands of miles away in Kinshasa, the capital city of the African nation of Congo in the summer of 2012. During what was obviously an upsetting and anxietyproducing scenario, Shines chose to use his creative talents to not express fear, sadness and trepidation, but rather he chose to take the folks who hear Good to Me on a remarkable journey of gratitude and hope. “It’s one of those things in life where you look at it and realize it could have been worse. I could have lost her; she could have died. For most people who have a stroke that severe, there’s no coming back. But my mother can walk again, talk again and is able to express herself again. She can remember everything that has happened in her life. For me, from the moment I realized that she wasn’t going to die, that made me very grateful,” said Shines. The uplifting message, which is echoed not only in the lyrics but also in the sweepingly upbeat melody, is even more potent for Shines himself as his mother continues her remarkable recovery. “Eighteen months ago, when I sang Good to Me, I was just happy for her being alive. As she recovers, the song is now more about how it gained strength through what she went through and how it really forced me to count my blessings and understand what my life would have been like if she had died.” Born in France and coming to Quebec at age three where he grew up in primarily English-speaking enclaves of Montreal, Shines’ musical indoctrination came through the medium top-40 radio throughout the 1980s and 1990s. “I grew up on Michael Jackson’s songs. I didn’t even listen to rap until I was 15 or 16 in high school. When I started writing music, we didn’t have urban That authenticity also lead Shines to eschew the advice he was getting from many in the music industry to not only have the song recorded by a ‘bigger’ artist, but to also have an artist of note do the female vocal track. “I felt for the song to be as honest as possible I needed to have someone who could relate with what I was saying in the verse. She was there too. My sister D’amyka felt what I felt. And, frankly, I think her voice works beautifully on the track.” The experience of seeing the debilitating effects of stroke on someone of such significance in his life, and the knowledge that he gained about the ailment not only motivated Shines to create Good to Me as a song of hope springing from a grateful heart, but also as a call to action to encourage all those who hear the song to also educate themselves about stroke. “It is a blessing we have as entertainers and artists that we have the platform to be able to shed light in situations in our lives that so many other people can relate to. I can use my press appearances and shows to promote awareness of stroke prevention and treatment, because people need to know about the warning signs and how to avoid the risk factors. Even though it is something that is pretty common, people still think it’s never going to happen to them or someone close to them.” beautiful. Michael Jackson once said that the reason he was so big in countries all over the world was that people everywhere understand melody, and I believe that is so true,” he said. The process for creating Good to Me was somewhat different than the way some of his other songs have come together in the past. Lyrically, he forged a deeply personal path that took him somewhat out of his comfort zone. But the final product rings with an undeniable authenticity and humanity that there is no doubt his approach was exquisitely appropriate. “As soon as I got the beat I liked I started pulling the chords together. I wanted something that was really catchy but I also wanted the words to be about something that everyone could relate to, because that’s what songwriters are supposed to do,” he said. “But it’s very rare that I will write about something so personal. I normally write about broader topics like not letting life take away your smile – things like that. But as soon as the music came together I knew that the best thing I can do to add to this powerful, melodic tune, is write about my situation. That was kind of unknown territory for me, and I started the lyrics right from how I was feeling the moment I got the phone call about my mom.” Good to Me came from the wellspring of Shines’ personal faith. A man of deep religious beliefs, he nonetheless considers himself to be an artist whose music is broadly accessible to people of all faiths or no faith. “I am an artist who happens to be Christian. Writing about gratitude to God was just the best way, for this one song, to describe the situation and how I felt at the time. I am just showing one side of me on this song. The next songs I release will likely be quite different. Good to Me is an honest reflection of where my head and heart were at during this very difficult time.” Good to Me is the first of many new songs to come from Shines in 2014. He recently signed a contract as a songwriter/producer with Defient/Grand Hustle, the Atlanta-based label and production company that represents some of hip hop’s elite players, including B.o.B, meaning more great songs are still to come. For Kaymbo Shines, life truly has been good to him, and he hopes that his music will be good for all those who have the opportunity to experience it. www. kay mbo s hines.com www.twitter .c o m/ Kaym b oS h i n e s www. fac ebo o k.c o m/ K aym b oS h i n e s PUBLICITY CONTACT: Paula Danylevich, Hype Music, 647-559-0302, [email protected]