Keyon Harrold Interview on
The TrevBeats Show 

0:00 — Cold Open Keyon Harrold: Again, being in the studio with Beyoncé, being in the studio with Jay-Z and Mac Miller, and working with D’Angelo — literally being the only musician on stage with D’Angelo on some of his final performances — I didn’t have that on my bingo card. 0:18 — Intro Trevor Lawrence Jr.: Real quick, if you’re new here, welcome to The TrevBeats Show. Hit subscribe so we can keep building together. And to my regulars who show up every time, I see you, and your viewership means everything. If you ever want to help fuel this channel so we can do even bigger things, you can grab some fresh gear from the merch store below or jump into the Backstage membership next to the subscribe button. Now back to the show. 0:54 — Welcome Keyon Harrold to The TrevBeats Show Trevor Lawrence Jr.: What’s up, everybody? Welcome back to The TrevBeats Show. Today we have a master trumpeter, a platinum producer, a composer, and a true sonic visionary all in one. Wynton Marsalis called him “the future of the trumpet,” but his footprint goes way beyond just jazz. He played incredible, breathtaking work on that Don Cheadle Miles Davis biopic, Miles Ahead, and he’s produced and worked with legends like Jay-Z, Nas, Beyoncé, Maxwell, Mac Miller, and so many different people. He’s currently touring behind his incredible Grammy-nominated album, Foreverland, on Concord Jazz, and he just brought down the house at Carnegie Hall celebrating the Miles Davis centennial. Put some respect on his name. St. Louis’ own, the one and only Keyon Harrold is here. My brother, my brother. Keyon Harrold: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. What up? What up, my brother? Trevor: How are you? Keyon: I’m good, man. Pleasure to be here and talk to you, man. Trevor: Yeah, man. Thank you so much for coming. I say this to all my guests — everybody’s busy — but it’s the truth, because everybody that comes on here is legendary, man. So you are no different. Thank you so much for coming, bro. It’s been amazing to see you do what you’ve been doing over these last several years, and even more of a privilege to work with you at times. Thanks for coming on The TrevBeats Show, man. Keyon: My pleasure. My pleasure. 2:29 — Growing Up in Ferguson and St. Louis Trevor: I’ve got to say, man, I recently went to St. Louis, and I went to this one area that looked like Century City or Beverly Hills. It was crazy. You know what I’m saying? Keyon: You sound like you were probably in Ladue or something like that. Where were you? Trevor: It was a whole bunch of shops, and there was some famous breakfast place everybody goes to. A lot of buildings with white brick, developments, condos — it was crazy, man. I was like, “Yo, this is amazing,” because I hadn’t been in quite a while. But you were born and raised in St. Louis, yes? Keyon: Yes, sir. More specifically Ferguson, but St. Louis is St. Louis. The whole vibe. Trevor: Right. Ferguson, come on, man. Ferguson got put on the map. That also makes a lot of sense when you see how you move, how conscious you are, and how Afrocentric you are in your music and personality. That lineage doesn’t surprise me. 3:46 — Production Secrets: Knowing When to Put the Trumpet Down Trevor: Let’s get into it. You are one of the few people who is a legitimate jazz trumpet player on every metric, but you completely dip and dabble into the other side with hip-hop and everything else. Not just as a trumpeter, you’re also a producer on a crazy amount of record-selling music. When you’re not at the trumpet, but you’re approaching a track — whether it’s your own music, or whether you’re working with somebody like Nas or anyone else — how do you decide when the trumpet even needs to be part of it? You could always say, “I’m going to play trumpet on everything,” but you don’t do that. What tells you, “Maybe the trumpet is not the dominant thing on this particular track”? Keyon: It comes down to knowing the history and the lineage of what the music calls for. Sometimes people overdo it. Sometimes it gets really cliché. But knowing when it’s time — that’s one of the biggest prerequisites for being known as a great artist. You have to be able to create a certain level of dopeness. Some people just don’t have those inklings. You’ve got to be able to trust the moment. Sometimes the moment calls for a blaring trumpet solo. Sometimes it doesn’t call for anything. Sometimes it calls for just the beat, or not the beat, or just the chords. You have to be able to know that. The idea of production is about creation and curation — choosing the right scenarios, the right people, the right vibe to make something come about. Sometimes, as a voice, it’s important that I’m present. Sometimes, as a voice, it’s important that I know I shouldn’t be there right now. I’ve been blessed to work on so many different things, and one of the biggest things I take away is this: if I have a voice, it can travel no matter what kind of beat it is, no matter what kind of scenario it is. If I’ve cultivated a voice enough, it will travel. The main thing that changes the genre or the type of music is the beat. How many different chords do we actually have? Only a few. So whether I’m working with Maxwell, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Raphael Saadiq, or whoever, my sound, my vision, and my intellect are going to take it where it needs to be. Trevor: Yeah. I’ve seen you at work in different areas, and that’s true. The whole taste thing is a big testament to taking the ego out of the music, because you’re trying to serve the song. That’s something we hear a lot and talk about a lot, but you’re really doing that. And at the end of the day, it sounds that way. Even on your project, Foreverland, it’s very intentional with the space and the emotional weight of it. It gets very emotional at times. 7:22 — How Foreverland Was Formed During Lockdown Trevor: Now, I understand — correct me if I’m wrong — that you spent some time working on Foreverland in Vegas during lockdown. Is that true? Keyon: Yeah. During the lockdown, it was a crazy time in life for me — in terms of relationships, in terms of what was going on socially, and in terms of what was going on in our world. At that time, we weren’t getting a chance to really vibe out with our musician community. Everybody was by themselves. It was during the pandemic, and I was stuck in Brooklyn and Queens the whole time for almost two years, wishing I had the opportunity to play with my brothers and sisters. As musicians, we were longing to perform and to be in our regular community of musicianship. It’s hard to do it in a silo. As much as we can create, at some point we just want to play. We just want to be amongst each other. At that time, it was my birthday, and I was like, “Okay, I want to get some musicians together. I just want to hang.” I didn’t even plan on it being a recording or turning into something. I just wanted to get together. So I got together with a few cats, and we went to Vegas. We hung out for a few days, and it turned into the makings of my album, Foreverland. Trevor: That’s beautiful, man. Great story. I feel you. It was a weird time. Creatively, you couldn’t get out and do your thing. It had a lot of people questioning things. It was tough. So it’s amazing that we’re now left with this body of music that was celebrated, and that will always be a time capsule for that time period emotionally. 9:33 — Assembling the “Super Friends” Trevor: You’ve talked about how the ingredients of a good record are like a great meal. You don’t just need any kind of pepper. You need a specific kind. When you do tracks like “Find Your Peace” with Robert Glasper and Common, or “Beautiful Day” with P.J. Morton, how did you know those specific personalities were the perfect ingredients to complete your vision creatively? Keyon: Fortunately, I’ve got really, really dope friends, and they know how to make anything sound good, number one. Number two, it was a vibe. It was an energy. Anytime I’m writing something, I’m usually thinking about who I believe will take my vision further than what it already is. In terms of P.J. Morton and our song “Beautiful Day,” it was a matter of going to New Orleans, sitting with him, telling him what was going on in my world and in my mind, and him sitting down at the piano. We came up with an idea and a vibe that was the summation of this: no matter what you’re going through, whether it’s the worst of times or the best of times, it’s still going to be a beautiful day. The sun is still going to shine. If we trust that, we can get through it together. That sentiment was captured immediately, and P.J. Morton is a king at that. So that worked well. The idea for “Find Your Peace” started off as a track called “Song Number Two.” Immediately, I considered, “Who would be amazing on this? Whose feel would be impeccable? Who knows how to make these voices sing? Who knows how to play in a style that’s so free that one can travel outside of their mental state?” That’s Robert Glasper. The one and only. From Chris Dave to Burniss Travis, Justice West, Cedric Mitchell — all these incredible minds in one place — it had to be something special. And Laura Mvula, Greg Phillinganes, so many amazing people. On my journey in life, I’ve been blessed to meet and work with some incredible people. Those kinds of collaborations really make for a proper meal. Trevor: Yeah, man. It definitely sounds like that. Those energies — it’s like you assembled the Super Friends. Beautiful job on that. 12:32 — Genre-Bending: Speaking to the People vs. Yelling at Them Trevor: On another project, your quintet sound has been described as a blend of bop, pop, hip-hop, and jazz. Today we’ve seen the evolution of genre-bending. When we first started coming up, you had the Young Lion movement over here that was all jazz, and hip-hop over here. Now, 25 or 30 years later, it’s completely blended. It feels like that’s been a natural language for you already. So when we’re talking about traditional jazz, how do you keep the unpredictable edge of it while still keeping it locked in so it’s not off-putting to the listener or over the listener’s head? How do you get it to translate so well? Keyon: First off, Miles Davis is a heavy influence. I think the idea is speaking to the people versus yelling at the people. Speaking to the people musically and not beating them over the head. It’s about finding a language and a style that can permeate through different genres. It’s like speaking softly so people actually listen to you. As a trumpet player, I love the idea of being able to dice it up, but at the same time, being able to play two or three notes and know what kind of situation I’m in. Being able to forecast: “Okay, you’re doing too much.” Or, “I need to do more.” Or, “Let’s talk to these people’s hearts with these ballads, these long notes, these footballs.” When is the time? My dad used to always tell me there’s a time and season to every purpose. Sometimes it’s time to burn out, go hard, play high, play loud, play the craziest craziness, and make organized chaos. But sometimes it’s time to play beauty, talk to people’s souls, and massage people’s hearts. My favorite musicians have the ability to know when it’s time. I hear a lot of different kinds of music, and sometimes I hear people who know exactly what to do. Then I hear people doing way too much and basically shoving it down people’s throats, and that’s not the vibe. Trevor: You said “burn out,” and that instantly took me back to the ’90s — playing fast. 15:40 — Miles Davis, Carnegie Hall, and Being Mentored Across Time Trevor: Speaking of Miles, first of all, congratulations. You just did Carnegie Hall, man. Carnegie Hall. Come on, man. As a child, as a musician, as an instrumentalist, the dream is to be on that stage. Carnegie Hall, man. Wow, bro. That’s amazing. During that time, you spoke beautifully about being mentored across time by studying Miles, his concepts, and even his fashion. That’s a thing, man. That is a thing. That’s part of the expression. So what’s the biggest lesson you took from Miles regarding how a bandleader should push boundaries and also manage the energy on stage? Keyon: The biggest lesson, for lack of better words, is that Miles knew how to trust certain people. He knew how to cast a net, find the great ones, and allow them to be who they are in order to make a whole. He allowed those micros to become macros. From Herbie Hancock to Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter — he allowed them all to be themselves in that group. Then they went out and influenced who we are, who you are, and who all of our favorite musicians have become, because Miles gave them a platform to do their thing. I take from that as a band director. If I call Cedric Mitchell, Nir Felder, Burniss Travis, or anybody, I allow them to have their input and see how it goes. I take that from the story of Miles and Wayne. Wayne would show up with his little book, and you never knew what was in there — from “E.S.P.” to “Footprints” to all those incredible songs. Miles allowed people around him to be vehicles as well. As he was pushing the whole thing, they were holding it up. How are you leading if you’re not allowing the people to follow in the correct way? 18:31 — Playing the Miles Davis Parts in Miles Ahead Trevor: Staying on Miles for a second, we all hear and talk about some of these concepts, and sometimes they come second- or third-generation through people he told them to. Working with Herbie, one of the things was “play your mistakes,” but he got that from Miles. Miles put so much energy and concept into the sphere of jazz music and music in general. A lot of us have different parts of Miles in us, and some people don’t even know that’s where those concepts came from. That being said, you had the opportunity to go in and play the Miles parts on an incredible movie by Don Cheadle called Miles Ahead. How was that psychologically? When your heroes are involved and you get tapped to be the one to bring that to modern times again, what was that experience like? Keyon: That was an incredible experience. Shout out to Don Cheadle and Robert Glasper for making that happen. It was a scenario where I basically got a chance to speak like my proverbial musical father. When we’re at home, our parents teach us. Over time, you might mimic them sometimes. Then maybe your parents are gone, and it’s time for you to pray. Most of the time, you’re going to sound just like them because you’ve been listening to that for so long. You’ve been living that reality for so long. That’s the way I see it. It was a special undertaking because it wasn’t something where I had to be like, “Okay, we’re going to do this Miles thing. We’re going to play the ’50s, the ’60s, the ’70s, the ’80s. Go home and practice.” It wasn’t that. I had been listening to and going with that my entire life, from the age of 14 or 15 when my mom first started buying me those records — Kind of Blue, Birth of the Cool. It was always a part of me. So I had the opportunity to express outwardly exactly what was inside of me. 21:11 — Growing Up in a Musical House Trevor: Usually I tell the story from the beginning, but now we’re doing it a little out of order, which is actually cool because we kind of see where you are on the early side. When did you pick up a trumpet? What was that about? Did you come up in a house full of musicians? Keyon: Yeah, I grew up in a house full of music — all kinds of music, from gospel on. My parents were in the ministry, so we basically had to be the Levites and show up to church. I started really early. At the age of six, my grandfather had a drum and bugle corps, and we all had to learn how to play. I wanted to be a drummer. That didn’t work out because everybody wanted to play drums, so somebody had to play the horn. The horn was put in my hand, and I started practicing. I started getting good at it, so I couldn’t switch to the drums. I always tell this story about my brother, Emmanuel. He’s now playing with Gregory Porter and has been playing with him for years. He started on horn too, but he didn’t progress on the horn, so he was allowed to switch to the drums. The rest is history. The drum and bugle corps was important because my grandfather would find all kinds of music — music from Count Basie, music from Tito Puente. We were learning all this stuff at a young age. One of my first professional tours was actually playing with the Count Basie Orchestra, and I knew some of that music just from my grandfather. That was amazing. So family and music — that’s definitely what it was. Trevor: That’s crazy, man. It sounds like you’ve been playing that long because it’s just otherworldly. I know I first got introduced to you by our mutual friend, Terrace Martin. Terrace and I go back so far that certain things he can say, and I know what it is. He was like, “Trev, he one of the ones.” And I was like, “Okay. Say less.” I know exactly what you’re talking about when you say that. And it is all true, bro. You’ve just been murdering it. 23:31 — Working With the Next Generation Trevor: The amazing thing is, you’ve done all this stuff, but then you’re also hopping on projects with the newer generation, like the new R&B soul phenomenon Destin Conrad. You’re on his project Whimsy. That’s a big generational difference. What draws you to working with these younger-generation artists and creators? Keyon: What draws me is the same thing that drew me to wanting to play this music and play jazz. I’m always looking for the next incredibleness, the next dopeness, the next amazing vision. I always want to be part of the next vision because I want to give my vision. I want to live in music, culture, and life. When I see somebody dope or hear about somebody dope, I want to know what’s up. As simple as that. I love dope music. It doesn’t matter what genre. I’m not a genre-type person. I used to be more of a jazz aficionado. When I first moved to New York City, that’s all I was thinking about. I wanted to have the next great quintet, just like every other trumpet player watching Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis, and Nicholas Payton lead amazing bands. But my first job was working with Common, so that changed that. From Common to D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, and everybody else in between, it was an incredible experience. Each one of those people had the ingredient of “next.” They were the vibe. I look at Destin Conrad like that. Tiana Major9. Sasha Keable. There are so many dope people out right now. When we talk about the new generation, it’s not about what their age means. It’s about what their spirit lends. We’re always trying to tap into the spirit. I want to be part of that dope spirit. It doesn’t matter if that person is 14, 10, or 58. I want to be part of creating something special that people can be influenced by and uplifted by. 26:10 — Stepping Onto Rock Stages With Keith Richards and Jeff Beck Trevor: That’s absolutely amazing. I know it benefits them too, because they learn a lot from you as well. That inspiration is serious. But I also don’t want to paint the picture like you only exist in the worlds of jazz and Black music, because you’ve been on stage with people like Keith Richards and Jeff Beck. Let’s not get it confused. That’s a bar. When you get into those situations — say you get on stage with Jeff Beck or Keith Richards as a trumpet player — these are heavy guitar players. Do you bring extra effects? Are your effects always part of your sound? How does that mind frame work when you know you’re doing a gig like that? Keyon: With Jeff Beck, that was an incredible experience at Lincoln Center. I was just playing my trumpet. In the studio with the legend Keith Richards, I was called just to be myself. That’s one of the things as an artist. At some point, it’s great to be able to play styles. It’s great to be able to show up and read something. But it’s another thing to be called just to be yourself. That’s what that was, and that kind of is my career at the moment. At one time, it was about learning how to play music. Now it’s about doing the music. When I get called in, if I’m bringing effects, that’s cool. But if it’s just me and my dented-up horn, that’s cool too. 28:08 — Curating Music at the Intersection Trevor: Since we’re talking about being you and being in that phase, you also have this other phase now, which is more of an advisor role. You’re an artistic advisor in St. Louis and with the Music at the Intersection Festival. When you took on that business side — programming festivals and all that — you got to see a lot of new artists and new talent. What did you feel was the biggest missing link in the new generation? Keyon: That’s a great question. The progression from being just a musician to being on the other side, advising and curating, is a whole other thing. From your question, it’s about being able to tap the people most people miss. When I’m curating, I have an opportunity to say, “Yeah, that person is great. That person is great. But you should check out this person. We should put that person in front of our audience. That person has never played here before. Let’s bring this person to St. Louis.” This year at Music at the Intersection Festival — July 17th to 19th — we’re bringing in Moonchild and Nubya Garcia from the U.K. Most of these people typically go right past St. Louis on their tours. I’m like, “Listen, it’s imperative that we see this kind of dopeness.” Destin Conrad is having an incredible year. Then we have legends like Jon Batiste coming too. It’s going to be an incredible experience. Being on the other side, I get a chance to really appreciate artistry versus just trying to be in that number. I get a chance to sit back and say, “Oh, yes.” That’s a really cool place to be. Trevor: The respect and admiration for you, and you being in that ambassadorship type of role, is going to lend a big part to those artists coming. Everybody doesn’t always have to hit every market, so when you’re involved, suddenly there’s credibility. People don’t see these politics backstage. They don’t understand that this stuff happens all the time. 31:00 — “Not on My Bingo Card”: Looking Back on an Unbelievable Career Trevor: When you look back, man — you started in St. Louis, went to New York, did what you did, ended up on the Miles movie and all these stages. When you were a kid, did you ever imagine it would be like this? Did you have a different image of what the career path would be when you were younger versus what it actually ended up being? Keyon: Absolutely. On one side, I always felt that I was going to go to high levels, but I just didn’t know what the details would be. Every day, it chisels out something even more incredible, something even more visceral. My expectations are mind-blown over and over again, even today. Growing up as a kid with Miles Davis as a hero, I never knew I’d be on projects and in bands that would honor him and continue his legacy. Then going on the road with Greg Phillinganes and so many amazing people celebrating the legacy of Michael Jackson. Being in the studio with Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Mac Miller. Working with D’Angelo, literally being the only musician on stage with D’Angelo on some of his final performances — I didn’t have that on my bingo card. Having an incredible collective of amazing friends where we get together and create amazing stuff all the time — from Terrace Martin to Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, yourself, and projects we have coming out really soon — it’s such an amazing ride. From working with Elton John to so many other people you would never even imagine this horn coming out of Ferguson would be touching the world over and over again. It’s such a special thing. I’m humbled by the idea that this is only ground zero, and that we’re going to go higher. Every day, that’s what keeps me coming back — knowing that there’s some dopeness waiting to be discovered. Trevor: That is so amazing. You’re right. It’s only up from here, and it’s going to keep ascending. You’re giving so much to the culture and the art form. No pun intended, but you’ve become the trumpet of the trumpet. You are the voice right now. Every instrument has its shifts. We saw that shift happen with Robert on piano. We saw that shift happen with Chris Dave and certain other drummers. Right now, your name is in everybody’s mouth as the guy. I’m seeing you everywhere. We did that performance together at The Living Room, and then we did that performance for the screening of that movie with the orchestra. Miss Kim Burrell was there too. I saw the reaction from everybody. People were moved by what you were doing. You have that ability to translate emotion on the trumpet and through your music in general. 34:49 — Keyon’s Honest Take on AI in Music Trevor: One thing I like to ask everyone on the show — and you play an instrument that is more of a voice instrument, a lead instrument, so I’m particularly interested in your response — what is your outlook on what’s happening in music with AI? You produce too, so what’s your vantage point? Keyon: At the end of the day, when we use things as tools, that’s what they are. They’re not the end-all, be-all. They’re not the final thought. They’re just part of the journey. At one point, there were no synthesizers in jazz. Then all of a sudden, they’ve been in jazz since the ’50s. At one point, there was no multitrack recording. At one point, there were no Les Paul guitars. At one point, there were no pickups. Over time, we figured out ways to harness those things and use them for creativity and for the betterment of what music is. The way I look at AI today is the same thing. You do have people who may misuse it, or not know how to use it, or not know how to use it as a tool. But for cats who really know how to play, who are really going through the process and the discipline of learning an instrument, you use it as something that might save time or help you get your vision across with less time or a lower budget. But it’s still my idea. It’s still my thought process. It still came from me. I’ve used it not as a crutch, but as a way to elevate what’s already here. There are so many different AI things happening in terms of music and also in our daily lives. When we talk about Claude and all the OpenAI stuff, sometimes it just makes things easier. It’s not going to be me, but it will help my day go smoother. In the studio, sometimes we don’t have the budget to have a hundred-piece orchestra, but we need to make that hundred-piece orchestra sound happen. So what are you going to do? Or you don’t have enough time to score something for a certain scenario, but you need it to happen yesterday. What are you going to do? It’s a different time in terms of budgets. It’s a different time in terms of timing, because we don’t have it like that. You have to find a tool that allows you to get what you need done. I think AI is a viable component for that, but it’s not everything. It is not the vision. It’s just part of the vision. Trevor: Yeah. It’s definitely not something that anybody I know, or anybody who comes on this show, would advocate as far as plagiarism and all that. People look at it from one side. We’re looking at it as a tool. All that negative stuff doesn’t even cross the mind of a real creative because you have your own ideas. You’re just using it to enhance things and help the output. That word “output” is important now because of the lack of time. Like you said, it costs more money to get to a place. Everything has its connection. By some metrics, there’s a whole population that’s in a recession right now that nobody’s talking about, which is the Black community. Black America, on paper, is in recession, but nobody’s talking about it. So anything to enhance what we do is important. I’m glad you shared your take on that, because I really like to get everybody’s energy on how they look at AI. 38:59 — Upcoming Projects: The LOX Trilogy and New Music Trevor: Before we get out of here, anything you have going on or coming out that you want to speak on? Keyon: I have a few shows coming up. I’m not exactly sure when this is going to air, but I have a few shows coming up at the Blue Note, one with you, which is exciting. That’s on June 13th in association with the Blue Note Jazz Festival. That’s going to be fun. On the 11th, I have my first Tribeca premiere of a full-length film that I scored. I did the music for the LOX trilogy film — Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek. I did the score for Mass Appeal, so that’s going to premiere on the 11th in New York City. I’m excited about that. I’m working on a new album — albums, actually — at the moment. I don’t know when they’re going to drop, but new music is coming. Foreverland was amazing and had a great run, but it’s time for the new. I’m also touring with the Miles Davis Electric Band. Other things are happening too that I can’t really say, but dopeness is upon us. We’re working. 40:34 — Miles Electric Band Trevor: Speaking of that, I didn’t get into that, but I wanted to. The Miles Davis Electric Band — what is that? Tell me what that is and what that comprises of. You may or may not know, but I run into Vince almost every day at my coffee place. That’s my guy. Keyon: I love it. Trevor: So what’s that band about, and what have you guys been doing? Keyon: The Miles Davis Electric Band is basically celebrating the music of Miles Davis from the late ’70s all the way up until he passed away. It’s an incredible array of musicians. Vince Wilburn Jr., Miles Davis’ nephew, is leading us and playing drums. On bass, the great Darryl Jones — Munch. The one and only. From the Rolling Stones to Miles Davis to Madonna and everybody else. Also Munyungo Jackson. Antoine Roney, the brother of Wallace Roney. Bobby — an amazing musician. And Greg Spero, who is running the Recording Academy right now. It’s such a great vibe, and it’s jamming. It’s a different output of the Miles Davis stuff. We’re so used to the Kind of Blue era. We’re so used to the ’60s. But nobody really highlights that later stuff. I’ve been playing in that band for some years now, but this year, since we’re celebrating 100 years of Miles Davis, we’re playing a lot. Trevor: That’s beautiful. I’m going to have to catch that when I can because that’s an incredible lineup. And for the people who don’t know, Miles died doing hip-hop. Let’s not forget the progressive side. Doo-Bop was his last album with Easy Mo Bee, and that was straight boom bap. That was hip-hop. That mentality of pushing — people should not get stuck in one thing. Sometimes saying, “I’m this kind of guy” or “I’m that kind of guy” keeps you in a box. You are one of those shining examples of what happens when you go outside the box. People want to pigeonhole you and put you in this corner, but I feel like that doesn’t serve the music. It doesn’t help the music progress. All it does is keep you separated and segregated. We talk about segregation, but there’s still a lot of segregation going on in music, and it’s unfortunate. Keyon: I look at it as: I am music. I’m not a jazz musician. I’m not a hip-hop artist. I’m not a gospel musician. I am music. I am all of those things. If they’re doing country music, bluegrass, violin, or fiddle, I’m down for all of that. I’m down for all the smoke of whatever somebody has to add to the canon of dope music. I want to be part of that. Sign me up for that. It doesn’t matter what the genre is. At the end of the day, we are the soundtrack to people’s lives. Culturally, we have a lot of power and a lot of weight. We can use what’s inside of here to translate outward in a way that can help change people’s mindsets, which is what we need to contribute to the betterment of this world. Unfortunately, there’s a lot going on, but we have the ability to use music as a staff to make this place better, or at least give people another outlook. 44:51 — Outro and Final Kudos Trevor: Real talk, man. Keyon, I really appreciate you coming, bro. Keyon: It’s a pleasure, man. First of all, I’ve got to give you your kudos. Trevor Lawrence Jr. is one of the best we’ve ever seen in terms of music production, musicianship, and professionalism. There is nothing higher than what you’ve left us with, bro. I appreciate you being my friend and my brother, and always being a shining light to what’s to come and what it should be. We appreciate you, bro. Trevor: Thank you, man. I appreciate that. And thank you for stopping by. Ladies and gentlemen, the incredible Mr. Keyon Harrold. Keyon: Yes, sir. Thank you, man. Trevor: All good. We’re going to do it again. I look forward to playing with you. By the time the interview comes out, the gig will be over, but I already know we will have had a great time. Keyon: We in the future already. Trevor: Exactly. All right, bro. I’ll talk to you soon, man. Keyon: All right, my bro. Have a great one. Trevor: You too. Take care. Okay, everybody, appreciate you for rocking with us today. Share this episode with somebody in your circle who’s on their musical journey. You never know who needs to hear this conversation. Like, comment, and subscribe. Also follow us on Instagram at @TrevorLawrenceJr and stay locked in. I’m Trevor Lawrence Jr. This is The TrevBeats Show, and we out.