Kem’s latest album “Intimacy: Album III” hit #2 on the Billboard charts. It also earned him a Grammy nomination. Kem is already hard at work putting together a new album while he tours the U.S. on his Intimacy Tour. He recently spoke with Billboard.com.
“I’ve got three or four ideas, and I think when we come back to do the Detroit shows (March 25 and April 10) I’ll be getting some cats in the studio and cut some things while we’re there. So we’re thinking about the fourth album right now.”
That said, no direction has revealed itself yet. “The songs write themselves,” Kem explains. “I get enough songs together and the songs will dictate what’s going on and what the album will be. I think for me it works best that way.”
Kem is hardly done with “Album III: Intimacy,” however. He recently recorded a new version of the track “If It’s Love” to be the third single, substituting Chrisette Michele for the duet part originally sung by Maurissa Rose.
“I just wanted to add another dimension to the record,” Kem explains. “That record…throws you back to the days of Anita Baker or Gladys Knight or Patti Labelle, but I wanted something on the record that would be a little bit unexpected. Chrisette is a great vocalist and she’s a radio darling, so I wanted to open it up a little bit and invite some listeners who may not automatically venture to a Kem record.”
Kem is also extending his brand into the world of fragrance. He plans a mother’s day launch of a brand new fragrance for women.
“It’s a warm scent,” he reports. “I love it. My mom loves it, so we’re very excited about it. Initially I’ll be selling it at my shows, just like my first CD, and online, and we’ll let it build from there. I’m very excited about branching out and flexing my entrepreneurial chops in a different arena.”
